Theo Moore

iPhone Development: Random Thoughts

Theo Moore — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:04:13 GMT

iPhone Development: Random Thoughts
I've been working on the iPhone for month or so....maybe a bit longer. I was interested in doing some iPhone dev ever since I got mine. I love the device (much more than WinMo, sorry) and wanted to create my own apps for it. I was also asked to work with Carbonated Comics (www.carbonatedcomics.com) on an iPhone version of their software, so I joined the team. Great bunch of folks and I really like their product.

Anyway, I thought I'd share some random thoughts on the whole iPhone dev experience with more to come.
As an aside, I've noticed that now that I twitter (TheoMoore) I don't blog anywhere near as much as I used to do. Not sure why. Not like I can effectively blog via twitter. Heck, most of tweets don't even talk about the same things about which I blog....
On to the thoughts:
- iPhone is a fantastic platform for apps. Love the interface. It is the purest of form meeting function in a device interface I've ever seen. Also, there's no stylus...no words for the hatred I have for WinMo stylus.
- iPhone only single-threads. No multi-threaded apps here. Simlipfies things, but sure does also limit things too.
- iPhone is a pretty pure MVC device. Like that. I don't think I ever really understood this paradigm as well as I do now, thanks to the iPhone and XCode/IB.
- iPhone 3G has only 128MB of memory. Ye gods, that's teeny!
- Memory management is the toughest part of iPhone dev to get under your belt, IMO. Since memory is so limited, even a couple memory leaks can severely affect performance. No garbage collection on iPhone as yet.
- ObjC is a pain the arse. Always. Everytime. Some folks love it, and some folks like to be whipped and spanked.
- I keep being told I'll get used to Obj-C "peculiarities". Yeah? I could get used to getting poked in the eye with a sharp stick too, but I don't think it's likely.
- XCode feels...thin compared to VS
- XCode, Interface Builder, and the iPhone Simulator are very loosely (if at all coupled). While this seems good (and I guess it is), it tends to annoy me when one of them doesn't realize I made changes in the other and I have to close the app down to make it "see". This happens often enough it's worth putting on this post.
-XCode error messages are the most vague I've ever seen. I keep expecting one in Klingon or one that says "So I clearly cannot choose the wine in front of me".
- Getting used to the hotkeys in XCode has been challenging, for some reason.
Anyway, more on this as I work on it.
Wish me luck!

Automated Web Testing with Powershell

Theo Moore — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:11:01 GMT

I have been working in Selenium (see previous posts) building a test suite at my job. I spent quite a bit of time architecting the design and attempting to build bricks with which others could build buildings. I was beginning to instruct the folks on my team (who had not previously written code) on how to use these bricks and understand the mortar. This all in a language (Java) with which I wasn't terribly familiar. The framework design was sound and was beginning to grow on it's own.

Then, the massive changes in the app took place right about the time we were slammed with testing projects that required me to focus on manual testing. By the time the smoke cleared, the testing framework I had written was woefully out of date with the app. Many, many weeks were going to be required to update the component classes and test them all and I was not going to be given the time. Yet, automation was required and expected...right now.

So, what to do??

I have basically started writing tests in Powershell. Why PS? Writing the tests is relatively fast and it is incredibly powerful. I was able to create what I refer to as "QD" tests (Quick and Dirty) that support a happy medium between resusability and speed of development. I've tried to write them with maintainability mind, but not allowed that to override some basic ideas:
    1. Every test should be throwaway
    2. Anything that can't be thrownaway needs to be saved off for resuse
    3. Reusable pieces need to be elegant and very maintainable
    4. It is more important to generate a working test quickly than it is to write elegant code
    5. As quickly as possible, the tests need to be added to our periodic test suite


These ideas violate how I would prefer to write tests but in this volatile environment, I cannot invest much time in them. Instead, I write the reusable pieces well and as solid as I can. If the app changes two weeks from now, I am out very little as they can be replaced easily.

The other benefit is that if I have only 2 hours this week to work on automation, I can probably produce something useful rather than try to ramp up from what I was doing last week.

Again, this isn't how I'd like to produce tests but it's the best I can do in this situation.

I just hope the testing gods forgive the blasphemy.....

NOT a techie post, but a cool as heck real life one.

Theo Moore — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 04:38:13 GMT

WARNING: THIS POST IS NOT TECHIE AND IT IS VERY SAPPY!! If you are likely to flame me for writing such a thing, then please do not read it and leave it alone. Thanks.

I am 40 years old.

I mention this to put in context where this discussion comes from (pardon ending on preposition if you would; it's late). I am not your typical 40 yr old in many, many ways...as anyone I knows me can attest. I am very, very fit (last physical shows me at 106/68 BP and a resting heart rate less than 60), and I am very, very geeky. I refer to myself as high level functional geek; I can walk in geek circles yet can also avoid being looked at strangely in "normal" company. I am the geek equivalent of Blade the Daywalker. I like that about me, actually.

For those of you who don't know, I also work at an online pr0n company, arguably the largest in the world. If you looked at VOD pr0n (Video On Demand) today, chances are we hosted it. Not sure why I felt compelled to say that right here and now, but I suppose I am feeling a little like confessing, like opening up.

Anyway, I just had my 40th birthday. It was largely unremarkable except for the time I spent with my son. My wife spent the money to fly him here so we could go to Atlanta for the weekend to see Green Day. There is a *long*, very cool story about why we went to see Green Day, but that's for another time. Suffice it to say we both love the band, and the concert could have been the absolute best I've ever seen next to the first AC/DC show, which is an interesting coincidence given the direction this post should take.

See, I had a friend once. He was the coolest guy I knew. In high school, I think it would be safe to say were thick as thieves and twice as bonded. We were close buds before the term "bromance" ever became popular. We did everything and nothing, and when we were hung out, we felt like we were the kings of all creation. I loved this other guy as a brother, and I'd have killed someone (or so I think now) had they hurt him. I've felt this way about one other person (other than my wife) in all of my 40 yrs.

I have trouble trusting people and letting them get close to me. Oh, sure..I like lots of people and I get along with tons more. I am very flexible when dealing with people. It's part of who I am. Typically, however, I just don't trust people and I don't let them get to close so I don't have to worry about getting hurt. As Henry Rollins once said "People only give now so they can take later". Words to consider.

Anyway, we had a falling out, this high school age brother. I was devastated. He was my only friend, really, in my entire High School experience. I won't go into the details of the falling out as it is 1) a long story, and 2) not really important. The important thing to know is that I lost my first real friend in all of my life. It was many (20+) years before I found another.

Many years later, he contacted me out of the blue. Not really sure how he found me, but he did. It was a moment of great joy for me as I always wondered what had happened to him. Despite our falling out, I always hoped he done well and was happy. Turns out he was and that we shared a lot of similar history over the 20+ years it had been since we'd talked. We now enjoy a good resurgence of friendship online out of respect of our previous relationship if for no other reason. However, I confess that now I've talked to him again, I'd love to see him and perhaps get to know him again...just b/c I can't imagine that the great kid he was couldn't have grown into a great man to know.

and here's proof of that;

For my birthday, I got a mysterious package from this old buddy. I opened it was and was shocked. When we were kids, we both collected comics. I remember going to the flea market and talking with this very old guy (who treated his comics like crap, we thought) about comics. We used to walk the mile or so from his dad's place to look for comics at the local Circle K (might have been some other knock off, or perhaps a 7Eleven) and we always ended up buying the same comics. Well, I forget why, but I ended up not collecting anymore. I gave him my entire collection sometime in 1986 (or so his letter reminded me), and we had our falling out shortly thereafter.

The letter accompanying the package I got explained that he had sold/traded some of the comics over the years, but one mini-series he kept, both the set I had and his own set. He felt that it was appropriate to give me the set I'd given him 23 years ago back to me.

I am now the proud owner of Wolverine and Kitty Pride mini-series, issue 1-6.

My friend states that the comics are probably worth about 50-100 dollars, but they are priceless to me. I don't know if I am more moved that he sent them or that he stated that always thought of me when he thought of Wolverine and hated to part with them all these years. Either way, the comics have become a treasured part of my possessions with which I shall not be parted.

Danny, I offer you an earnest and heart-felt thank you; I am beyond word to say more.

PC vs. mac: don’t start nuttin’ won’t be nuttin’

Theo Moore — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 23:56:47 GMT

I've had my Mac mini for a couple of weeks now, I confess I like it. The Mac mini works well, it's cheap (for a Mac), and pretty fast. I got it to do iPhone development and it's perfect for that.

However, I don't like it more than my PC.

Honestly, I don't understand why ppl care enough to argue. It occurred to me recently that other than gaming or development, 99.9% of what I do is on the web anyway, so I don't really care. I know some people do have some specific needs/purposes that require one or other, of course, but seems to me that most people don't have that need. As such, I can't understand how most people can really dislike one or the other.

Some random thoughts on the Mac:

1) I think it it is way too expensive for what you get. I can get a comparably performing PC for way less.

2) I don't understand the big deal with regards to the low hardware requirements for Mac OS. Given that the machine is more expensive for the same performance, doesn't it seem silly to care that OS X takes less system? I mean, ok, XP, Vista, or Win7 requires more resources to run...got it..however, I can get machine that runs them all pretty well for a fraction of the price of the Mac.

3) Apple is every bit the evil empire that MS is, only with a better marketing campaign. I remember a big deal being made b/c Windows Vista starting being pretty tight on security, or at least that was the perception (remember the commercial about the Mac and PC where the PC guy was having to get permission for everything). Yet, on my Mac, I have to give permission for it install anything. Every time. I don't mind, of course, but my point is why make an issue about the PC requiring permission when the Mac does also??? There is much more to my point about Apple being the evil empire but I'll save that for another blog.

4) My netbook is actually a darn good machine. For web-based performance, it's every bit as good as the standard Macbook or the mini (strictly in my opinion) and it was waaaay cheaper.

So, there's my initial thoughts on the mac vs. pc argument. Perhaps I'll have a different view once I've used the Mac a bit more, but so far, I just don't see the need to fight.

windows service: debugging simplified

Theo Moore — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:19:50 GMT

I recently wrote a Windows service for the development team here at work. Apparently, the devs were all committed to other projects and this extra curricular activity popped up. Being a developer in tester's clothing, I was asked if I'd do it.

Interestingly, this was originally to be a Powershell script, but the more I worked on it the less it sounded like PS and the more it sounded like a service...pretty straight forward stuff: comes alive at configurable times, looks for files in a folder, processes the files, moves them, updates a database. Pretty simple stuff.

Given that we are a Java shop, I got some funny looks when I told them I'd write it in C#...but, no one really objected.

Anyway, I found debugging the service to be a pain. You have to compile the app, install the service, attach to the running process, etc., for every little change you make. What an annoyance!

Fortunately, an aquaintance of mine noticed me tweeting about it and sent the following to help me out by sending me the following (note that it assumes the classname is "OrderService"):

1. In your service class add the following subroutine:
internal void Start()
{
OnStart(new string[] { });
}

2. In Program.cs modify the Main routine as follows:
static void Main()
{
#if(!DEBUG)
ServiceBase[] ServicesToRun;
ServicesToRun = new ServiceBase[] { new OrderService() };
ServiceBase.Run(ServicesToRun);
#else
OrderService service = new OrderService();
service.Start();
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(System.Threading.Timeout.Infinite);
#endif
}

What this does is basically switch the directive based on your compiler settings. If you are in Release or a user defined mode, it will compile to run as a service and not launch anything without being installed. However, if you are in debug mode, it will hit your entry point defined in 1 to start your service as if it was being launched by Windows. Keep in mind that when you go to deploy this to production, you MUST compile in a non DEBUG mode. Otherwise it will spin indefinitely when you attempt to start it up under the services control panel.

This works very well, and makes debugging much simpler. Of course, some things you can't still find until you install and run the service, but this is great for debugging those quick, little changes.

Nice! Thanks, Brandon!!

The 4th of July: Don't Tread on me...tread on someone else

Theo Moore — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 16:36:52 GMT

It is the 4th of July again. We are dragging out dusty flags and threadbare platitudes professing our belief in liberty and freedom. We cook out hotdogs and hamburgers, watch our fireworks, and sing songs about how our country is the greatest in the world because we are free.

Some of us (like me) do it everyday and don't need one day a year to me reminded.

Those of us who sing the loudest and pound our proud, stuck out chests the hardest will soon pack away those "strong" beliefs and get back to the business of at best ignoring those beliefs or at worst supporting "change" that rips the guts out of our way of life. We will applaud the current shift in belief that puts forward the notion that no one should be better off than his fellow man and that no one should be free enough to get ahead through hard work and planning. We as a whole seem to believe that government should have to power to regulate a person's success or at least how much they benefit from that success. We talk about how people are "less fortunate" implying that people who are successful are merely "lucky". I find it amazing how "lucky" I am when I work hard.

I came from very humble beginnings. My family was lower middle class and we weren't well off at all. I never thought of myself as "unlucky"; I wasn't allowed to think that way. I was raised to believe that what you have is what you have and the smart, motivated person could raise their standard of living by working hard. Invest in your future, and teach your kids to invest in theirs. How many "lucky" families were always "lucky" and how many are the result of someone at some point being smart and hard-working enough to simply invest in the future? My wife and I are still not rich. We do ok, but it is the result of hard work. I've studied, taught myself everything I know, screwed up, picked myself up and got busy trying to recover. I've failed at more than I've succeeded in life, but I've kept at it. I was raised to believe that this is the American way. I'll be damned if I am going to sit and wait for the government to send me a check stolen from some other American who worked a little harder and perhaps a little smarter. It is my hope that my hard work will provide a spring board to help my children get started better in life than I did and perhaps they will improve the chances of their children. This, of course, depends on how much government is allowed to interfere in my life day to day. Our "Patriots of the Day" would seem to feel that perhaps my children should have no better chances than any other.

I have become so cynical as a result of seeing these would be patriots falsely touting the ideals of the Framers that I find myself treating the 4th of July as one would a funeral.

I spent 12 years of my life in the Navy, bereft of the light of the sun on a submarine protecting a way of life very few people seem to want.

I am so very proud of being an American and so very proud of what the American used to be. I can only hope that somehow, someway we'll get back to that belief system.

I apologize for the political post; it's not my way to post such things online usually. The 4th tends to bring out the melancholy in me and I tend, therefore, to wax maudlin.

To you other year-long patriots, I say "Happy 4th" and let us hope that America will come back to herself someday.

PocketPC: backup software a necessity

Theo Moore — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:11:08 GMT

I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve reinstalled my OS on my pocketpc in the last few months. Fortunately, I invested in good backup software a *long* time ago and I use it. I use it very often.I have no idea what irritates the darn thing, but it sure is annoying. Prior to getting backup software, I used to actually have to fully reinstall from a slicked down OS. Once you have your machine like you like it, this is a real pain in the bottom.

I hear you saying “Perhaps your device is a lemon”, and it’s possible. However, this is one of several devices I’ve owned and they’ve all been susceptible to corruption.

My iPhone seems to be more stable, but it’s easy to do when you allow so little customization and standardize so much. The trade-off with pocketpc seems to be improved performance and customization for stability.

I’ve been using Spb Backup for a loooong time now, and it rocks. You can schedule your backups automatically (I do this) and it backs up to the storage card. No worries. The stored backup file is an executable, which makes the whole restore thing incredibly easy. Simply click and go. The only problem I’ve had with Spb Backup is sometimes, very rarely, the auto backup has issues (if the OS won’t let go of a file or running process)…but it’s very good to validate the backup file and let you know if there are any problems. Pretty slick, that.

SoapUI: Doing some simple web service testing

Theo Moore — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:36:16 GMT

Wow, been awhile since I last posted....sheesh.

Anyway, I've been doing some web service testing lately at work. Nothing to strenuous; just your basic does it do what it is supposed to do type testing. I was introduced to SoapUI in the process of this, and I can honestly say I like it. It's simple to set up and seems to work well. It provides a TestSuite/TestCase paradigm seems natural and normal to anyone who's done some testing.

My only complaint so far: it is has a steep learning curve once you get out of the basic uses. It does allow for scripting (in either Groovy or JavaScript) and I may need some of that later. For now, I am trying to keep the testing simple since I am on a deadline. I'll build some tests with it now that might be enhanced with scripting later.

Star trek: how excellent!

Theo Moore — Thu, 21 May 2009 13:02:53 GMT

As usual, THERE BE NO SPOILERS HERE!!! I know this comes late, but I figured I had to share my two cents anyway.

(I recently almost strangled someone over the whole spoiler thing, so let me say it now: I will *always* be very clear whether or not my posts on a movie, book, or whatever contain spoilers although it is very rare I will actually post them.)

Loved it.

Simple to describe.

I saw it with a a buddy of mine who said (as the credits rolled)…”Wow, could they have made it exciting?!?!”. This was his ironic statement indicating the level of excitement this movie generates. I was on the edge of my seat…the story moves quickly and yet not too quick. The scripting is powerful and very little dialogue is wasted. You do have to pay attention (which isn’t a bad thing, says I), though.

This is genre re-defining movie much as Batman Begins or Casino Royale was for their respective franchises. I hope that the next one is as good.

If you are an original series fan, yer gonna love it!

Dig dug remix for iPhone: I didn’t dig it

Theo Moore — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:55:56 GMT

I recently downloaded and installed Dig Dug Remix for iPhone the other day. I remember really liking this game when I was a kid. Heck, I was a sucker for just about anything that let me drop a coin in a slot and see 8 bit video dance around. Dig Dug was one of those games that was fun to play, easy to learn, but difficult to master. I thought getting to play a classic on my iPhone would be great.

Turns out the game is actually two games in one...one is the original Dig Dug as you (might) remember it, the other is a slick graphic/gameplay upgrade. They both basically play the same as you remember the original. Pretty sweet...or so I thought...

Then I had to control it. OMFG are the controls bad! It uses an on-screen d-pad that doesn't react well at all. It is borderline unplayable at times. Forget careful timing or last-minute saves...it ain't there. I am hoping in later versions the controls might function better. I realize that trying to emulate the functionality of a real hardware controller via screen interface is difficult, I really do. However, I am of the opinion that if you can't make it playable, then maybe you shouldn't make the game at all. Just my two cents.

Anyway, at least it was only $5. :-(

WTF Moment at work

Theo Moore — Wed, 06 May 2009 13:23:16 GMT

We are in a new building where I work. It is pretty nice building. We have been trying to get the air conditioning setup correctly for months. The issue is that the zones are off; we have our IT development room on the same zone as several groups that don’t have 30 server class machines. As a result, our room freezes/fries the others do the opposite. It’s balancing act we don’t do well.

One of the founders came up stairs on Monday claiming our lamps were the problem. He pointed to mine specifically and mentioned it was 111 degrees on the outside. I tried to explain that the bulb was very tiny; for all the temperature, it was not producing any real amount of heat. If you place something a foot away for a day, the temperature of the item will not increase. My tiny bulb simply doesn’t have enough surface area to produce any real heat. I said this is likely true of the other lamps in the room (we operate with our overhead lights off to reduce screen glare) and the real problem is the server class machines development uses.

I don’t think this helped. I base this on the fact that when we came in this morning, we found that every lamp in the room had been busted and/or stolen. Broken bulbs everywhere. Cube walls torn down. My personal ($30 at OfficeMax) non-functional. One person’s personal lamp completely stolen.

Now, if the desire was to remove the lamps, I am thinking there is likely a better approach. I have no doubt that should my boss have said something like “Theo, we need you to take your lamp home to help with the heat problem”. Had that happened, I’d have done it. No argument. I’d think it silly, but I’d have complied. Busting my lamp is not the solution.

The founder is up here now distributing lamps to replace the ones taken, but I feel terribly intimidated to ask for one. This is seriously messed up.

EDIT:
My lamp was replaced. The founder handed them out.

Sherman Branch Park: Charlotte Mountain Biking at its best

Theo Moore — Sun, 03 May 2009 00:46:15 GMT

We went out to Sherman Branch Park to ride this morning. We had heard about and since we were looking for somewhere new to ride, we figured we'd try it out. We weren't expecting much since it seemed to be off the beaten path and such.

Turns out it was a local's treasure spot.

It is 7 miles of fun trails for the beginner with 1.7 miles of advanced riding ("Roller Coaster Loop") and 2.5 miles of a Lake trail. We rode the Roller Coaster Loop on accident (Sheri doesn't like the more aggressive loops), and it was great. The trails are well maintained and well-marked.

We'll be back there very soon, I've no doubt.

Wolverine: No way, bub.

Theo Moore — Sun, 03 May 2009 00:37:30 GMT

THERE BE NO SPOILERS HERE!!!

My title makes it sound like it was bad, but it really wasn't that bad. Was it great? Nope. Did it deliver on the promise that the Jackman showed in the first two Xmen movies (I refuse to acknowledge there even was a third...blech)? I don't think it did.

The action scenes were pretty good, actually. Definitely some suspension of disbelief (and I don't mean the obvious things like using swords to chop bullets) in some places were it just didn't sell well, but the action was pretty good. The fights were fast and furious.

I did NOT like the acting at all. Now, for some folks, this isn't important at all in this kind of movie and I can appreciate that. However, these heroes are more than just characters in a movie to me. I grew up reading them and learning how they behaved. I had some expectations that they would act a certain way. They didn't. Jackman's Wolverine was not nearly the Wolverine he was in the first two Xmen movies. I also did not at all like the love interest. She's pretty as heck in that doesn't need makeup sorta way (I like that), but her acting was flat. She's an interesting blend of features that reminds me of Liv Tyler but prolly cheaper to hire. Just a thought. The chemistry between the characters didn't work really well, either. The "love" scenes just didn't sell at all.

Liev Schreiber plays a great Sabretooth, and he stole the show. My only complaint? He doesn't look like Sabretooth. Wolvie was pretty short, and in the comic, Sabertooth stood head and shoulders over him. In the movie, Sabretooth/Wolverine look the same height. This really troubled me, but Jackman is 6'3"...would be tough to find someone the right size.

Some of the CGI looked like it was from the 80s it was so bad. Especially the claws. Keep an eye on them and you'll see what I mean. I am a stickler for details and they troubled me.

So, overall would I suggest seeing it? Oh, yes, by all means. Is it one that is going to standout in mind as great film based on comic books? No. If the recent Batman movies were a 10, Iron Man an 8, Fantastic Four a 5, the Hulk a 2 and Barb Wire a 0, then Wolverine probably rates a 5 or a 4 (in my opinion) in the 1-10 scale of comic-based films.

Safari books online: tech library in your pocket

Theo Moore — Fri, 01 May 2009 12:37:38 GMT

I’ve been a professional developer/automated test software engineer for 10 years, and I’ve always seemed to move from discipline to discipline. First VB6, then .Net, now Java. Over the years, I’ve read a ton of books.

I was recently offered the chance to review Safari Books Online and I jumped at the chance. I love tech books. I always have several I am reading at any given time (don’t we all?), and I often pick up books on topics for which I don’t even currently have any particular use (I like to stay “in touch”). Needless to say, I end up with a quite a bookshelf of books in a fully, half-read, or not really needed state all of the time.

To be honest, I’ve used Safari books before. A previous employer provided us with a license for Safari. I was a traveling consultant at the time and I found that my access to Safari was priceless. Imagine having (more or less) instant access to a HUGE library of the best in the technical book world. Sometimes, the client would mention something we might want to be working on (Ruby even came up once even though it was a .Net shop). I could go back to my room that night and great resources were right at my fingertips. I could (and did) often educate myself on the topic at hand literally overnight so I could provide the best service to my client and represent my employer well.

Prior to this review, I’d always used the web-based PC interface, and it works quite well. I especially liked the bookshelf feature, which would keep the books I was currently reading in a convenient location. I also appreciated the note feature, which would allow me to make notes at specific places in the book and refer to them later. When I found a code example or explanation that was particularly useful, I could make note of it for later. Very handy.

I got to use the mobile interface for this review, too, I love it. I am using an iPhone 3G and I simply love the immediate access to the books. I expected the interface to be slow, perhaps hard to read, etc….all the things you’d expect in a small screen interface. I was wrong. With the iPhone at least, the interface is clean and slick. I can get at the same notes, favourites, etc., that I get in the web. Very handy for those notes I mentioned before. I can read my books on the train, in the car, etc.

My only complaint is with the mobile version if the Bookbag app for the iPhone. It simply didn’t work for me. I tried removing/reinstall, rebooting (both warm and cold), but it just wouldn’t work (I enter my credentials but the app shuts itself down without ever logging in. I was hoping that it would provide even more features than the browser-based, but honestly, the browser-based works wonderfully. The only thing I really wanted to see was how the Bookbag app actually stores the books on the phone and how it works when the connection is poor (i.e., on the Edge network). I think the reception for the Bookbag app is universally lukewarm given it has only a two star rating on iTunes.

I’d also like to thank the Safari Books people for the chance to review their service. It’s easy and fun to review a product that is this good.

As a special offer:
For a limited time, Safari Books Online is offering GeekswithBlogs readers a 15 day free trial, plus a 15% discount on a monthly subscription for a full year. Learn more and start your free trial at this link.

Win7: Why I am not sure it’s that big a deal

Theo Moore — Fri, 01 May 2009 11:59:36 GMT

I am currently downloading the Win7 RC from MSDN even as I type this, so believe me when I say I am interested in seeing it. I installed the beta months ago, and worked in it. It’s not a bad OS, of course. Honestly, as someone who is still on WinXP Pro SP3 and absolutely hates Vista for development or gaming (which is about all I do on my PC), I am hoping Win7 lives up to the hype we’ve all heard. Seriously, if Win7 can deliver the performance with all those added features and without the incredible weight and bloat of Vista (btw, I’ve used Vista ultimate on one of my spare boxes for months to give it a chance), I’ll be the first to upgrade. I am hoping against hope that Win7 delivers on what was promised with Vista.

I wrote the previous paragraph to illustrate where I am mentally with regards to the Win7 product before I write the body of this post.

A gentleman has recently written a post on Top Ten reasons why you should upgrade to Windows 7, and if these are *really* the top 10 then Win7 is going fall on its very pretty face (it *is* pretty, I’ll certainly grant…although I detest the taskbar/systray arrangement in the beta…blech). The author does a great job of communicating his ideas and I appreciate this. I can’t however agree that the reasons listed are really worthwhile. This is not so much a critique of the author or his article, but more of me expressing my difference in opinion. I can’t help but think the author was assigned the article, because few, if any of the reasons in this article are as compelling as I’d like. Here are some key ones:

1. A fast install time. Seriously?!?! This is a reason? Ok, improved boot time is cool, “snappier UI” could be cool (although XP, with XP power tools tweaking UI is pretty darn fast)…but install time?!?!

2. Removal of IE8 and other components. First off, this isn’t a really good reason to upgrade the whole OS and go through the patching process. Does IE really take up enough space that it’s a big deal? Secondly, there are already tools available that will remove IE.

3. Problem Steps Recorder. Again, this is a tool that most people will never even use, I suspect, and not really compelling at all.

4. Updates to Calc, Wordpad, and Paint. Again, these can’t seriously be reasons to upgrade a whole OS. I’ve always thought MS hasn’t really changed these apps over the years for two incredibly good reasons: 1) for what they are, they work fine and 2) there are free apps on the web that are significantly better so there is no money in supporting them. I am still stunned that this would be a reason.

The author does list “Less Bloat” as a reason, and this is a pretty good one. Another is the fact that DirectX will not longer be upgraded on XP (this is the most likely reason why I’d upgrade). I hope there are other, even better reasons than listed in this article. <crosses finners>