 |
| I hate reading other people's code |
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
perl: XML::LibXML::XPathContext - registerNs
XML::LibXML::XPathContext - XPath Evaluation - metacpan.org
If your XML has a namespace without prefix (xmlns="…" instead of xmlns:aaa="…", where 'aaa' would be called the prefix), you still have to provide registerNs with a proper prefix and use that prefix from then on; no undef or zero-length string allowed as prefix.
Learning this lesson cost me some sleep last night.
syndication feeds for blogs on Blogger.com take CGI parameters
You can find the URL-s of the Atom and the RSS feeds for such a blog in its HTML:
Within the XML of an Atom feed you can find a node like this:
The href attribute looks rather interesting, it uses these CGI parameters:
Actually the href used the somehow internal URL of that blog, but apparently both "public" URL and internal URL seem rather interchangeable – trial and failure "proved" that. Furthermore these CGI parameters also work on the URL of the RSS feed, not just the Atom feed.
/html/head/link[@rel="alternate" and @type="application/atom+xml"]/html/head/link[@rel="alternate" and @type="application/rss+xml"]
Within the XML of an Atom feed you can find a node like this:
/feed/link[@rel="next"]
/feed/link[@rel="next" and type="application/atom+xml"]
Found 1 nodes:
-- NODE --
The href attribute looks rather interesting, it uses these CGI parameters:
- start-index
- max-results
Actually the href used the somehow internal URL of that blog, but apparently both "public" URL and internal URL seem rather interchangeable – trial and failure "proved" that. Furthermore these CGI parameters also work on the URL of the RSS feed, not just the Atom feed.
BTW: Both feed XML-s carry an element openSearch:totalResults, find it like this:
It tells you exactly, what it says, i.e. the number of total results.
So you may very well read blog feed XML-s in small chunks, until you reach their end. I assume, this is what Google Reader does e.g. . It shows you the most recent blog articles (resp. their stubs) initially, and extends the list, when it notices, you are scrolling "beyond the end".
/feed/openSearch:totalResult… for Atom resp. RSS.
/rss/channel/openSearch:totalResult
It tells you exactly, what it says, i.e. the number of total results.
So you may very well read blog feed XML-s in small chunks, until you reach their end. I assume, this is what Google Reader does e.g. . It shows you the most recent blog articles (resp. their stubs) initially, and extends the list, when it notices, you are scrolling "beyond the end".
O'Reilly Media book: MySQL Troubleshooting
MySQL Troubleshooting: 
Sometimes applications can go mad: tables contain wrong data, users get random replies, server stop working, and so on. Several easy methods allow users to often find the problems quickly. This book, based on successful conference presentations by the author, cover SQL problems, memory and other server problems, replication, and problems related to particular storage engines.
Sometimes applications can go mad: tables contain wrong data, users get random replies, server stop working, and so on. Several easy methods allow users to often find the problems quickly. This book, based on successful conference presentations by the author, cover SQL problems, memory and other server problems, replication, and problems related to particular storage engines.
Monday, January 23, 2012
O'Reilly Media book: Getting Started with Fluidinfo
Getting Started with Fluidinfo: 
For developers, content providers and sophisticated power users, Fluidinfo is an online information storage and search platform that supports shared openly writable metadata of any type and about anything. Fluidinfo helps content owners publish product information via a modern writable API, with flexible permissions and their domain name on their data. Developers can create lightweight applications that make data social while letting users personalize and search on anything.
For developers, content providers and sophisticated power users, Fluidinfo is an online information storage and search platform that supports shared openly writable metadata of any type and about anything. Fluidinfo helps content owners publish product information via a modern writable API, with flexible permissions and their domain name on their data. Developers can create lightweight applications that make data social while letting users personalize and search on anything.
the Firefox setting "browser.display.use_document_colors"
Up until now, I have never heard of this setting, nevertheless it had gotten toggled a while ago. It had made me a little nervous during the last couple of weeks.
How I solved the issue:
What a wicked little thing!!
I am really relieved, this got finally solved.
How I solved the issue:
- searched the web for "Firefox ignores stylesheets",
- too many hits of course …,
- found a hint pointing to PrefBar,
- installed the Firefox Add-on by the name of PrefBar,
- toggled the Colors check box on that tool bar,
- which surprisingly did, what I had not expected.
But that did not reveil me, which Firefox setting was involved.
- So I launched about:config,
- filtered by "color",
- toggled the Colors check box another couple of times on PrefBar,
- until I finally got aware of browser.display.use_document_colors changing its value simultaneously.
What a wicked little thing!!
I am really relieved, this got finally solved.
Friday, January 20, 2012
how can Google Reader go further back in time on a Feedburner feed than the XML shows me?
If you use Google Reader for reading a feed on Google Feedburner, you can go back and back and back and … in time, but if you simply download the feed (as XML), the file is pretty finite and short.
- Q: How do they do that?
- Q: How do I get such a longer feed XML file myself? (I am more interested in this.)
Google Chrome extension "Table Capture"
Chrome Web Store - Table Capture
Using this tool you can browse all HTML tables on a web page (even nested ones) with big fun.
Using this tool you can browse all HTML tables on a web page (even nested ones) with big fun.
George Mike's HTML table capture test suite
Table Capture Test
George Mike is the author of the Google Chrome extension Table Capture, which I find very, very useful.
Firefox Add-on "Dafizilla Table2Clipboard"
Dafizilla Table2Clipboard :: Add-ons for Firefox
sources on Sourceforge.net
If you want to paste data in Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice Calc with correct disposition simply use Table2Clipboard.
"A brief survey of web data extraction tools" (ACM SIGMOD Record, Volume 31 Issue 2, June 2002)
- A brief survey of web data extraction tools (citation at the ACM digital library)
- the article as PDF at Berthier A. Ribeiro-Neto's home page at his university
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Galaxy S II: The Missing Manual - O'Reilly Media
Galaxy S II: The Missing Manual - O'Reilly Media
This book describes the Android 2.x firmware.
I guess, after the upgrade to the Ice Cream Sandwich (4.x) Android firmware, this book will not properly describe the smart phone any longer.
This book describes the Android 2.x firmware.
I guess, after the upgrade to the Ice Cream Sandwich (4.x) Android firmware, this book will not properly describe the smart phone any longer.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
OpenStreetMap claims map vandalism traced to Google IP range - Update
OpenStreetMap claims map vandalism traced to Google IP range - Update: Bogus changes to the OpenStreetMap maps in London and New York have, according to members of the OpenStreetMap board, been traced to a Google IP range and they want an explanation from Google
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
article: "Stepping up from XML::Simple to XML::LibXML"
Stepping up from XML::Simple to XML::LibXML
I applied this (and a little more) in order to migrate my table_pdf2csv.pl , and of course I like it much better now. From there I will easily create more nice utilities.
I applied this (and a little more) in order to migrate my table_pdf2csv.pl , and of course I like it much better now. From there I will easily create more nice utilities.
Monday, January 16, 2012
pstree - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
pstree - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The article tells you, where to get the sources from.
The README tells you, how to compile it.
Easy!!!
Looks like pstree got abandoned on fink, but recompiling it yourself is honestly easy.
Perl-XML FAQ on XML::XPathScript
Perl-XML Frequently Asked Questions
XPathScript is a stylesheet language similar in many ways to XSLT (in concept, not in appearance), for transforming XML from one format to another …
XPathScript is a stylesheet language similar in many ways to XSLT (in concept, not in appearance), for transforming XML from one format to another …
XML::LibXML::Simple - a partial clone of XML::Simple - metacpan.org
XML::LibXML::Simple - XML::LibXML clone of XML::Simple::XMLin() - metacpan.org
Maybe a useful alternative, once I run into problems with XML::Simple.
Maybe a useful alternative, once I run into problems with XML::Simple.
testing the NetworkedBlogs blog-2-facebook gateway
I wonder, whether this will work.
NetworkedBlogs.com is the Facebook app, that does the "blog to Facebook" transfer.
The idea is, to finally reduce the number of articles on this blog shown on "my Facebook" by labeling an article with a certain label, and NetworkedBlogs.com would only see the articles from an RSS "sub-feed".
The NetworkedBlogs Facebook app takes
On the RSS XML
NetworkedBlogs.com is the Facebook app, that does the "blog to Facebook" transfer.
The idea is, to finally reduce the number of articles on this blog shown on "my Facebook" by labeling an article with a certain label, and NetworkedBlogs.com would only see the articles from an RSS "sub-feed".
The NetworkedBlogs Facebook app takes
- a "Blog Link"
- and also a "Feed Link".
The Blog Link itself can be restricted on a particular label (like "show-on-Facebook"), the Feed Link can not, as described below.
On the RSS XML
- each blog article corresponds to an entry element,
- each entry element has a couple of category sub-elements, corresponding to the article's labels,
- the label being the value of the term attribute of a category element.
There are no such sub-feeds on Blogger.com (itself).
It shouldn't be that difficult to create a filter to provide such sub-feeds, but right now my duties do not allow me to work on this. I am sorry.
That filter would just pass through all 1st level sub-elements (actually sub-trees), just restricting the entry sub-elements on those, that have a category sub-element with term="show-on-Facebook" (e.g.).
That filter would just pass through all 1st level sub-elements (actually sub-trees), just restricting the entry sub-elements on those, that have a category sub-element with term="show-on-Facebook" (e.g.).
Sunday, January 15, 2012
EmacsForMacOSX.com : GNU Emacs For Mac OS X
GNU Emacs For Mac OS X
They are also porting GNU Emacs 24, and I kind of like the idea of staying in sync with their nightly builds of that one ("Nightlies"). They have an RSS feed for that.
They are also porting GNU Emacs 24, and I kind of like the idea of staying in sync with their nightly builds of that one ("Nightlies"). They have an RSS feed for that.
on 2012-01-03 Google changed the XML for their address books, and that breaks jruby
At first I thought, it breaks XmlSimple or REXML, but everything is fine with MRI ruby, just jruby (up until 1.6.5.1) is concerned.
Before then Google Contacts had their German "umlauts" (ä, ö, ü, Ä, Ö, Ü) and the German "sz" i.e. "ß" represented as "ä" (for ä) etc.
In the middle of that day they changed that, and started showing the characters themselves (in UTF-8).
Before then Google Contacts had their German "umlauts" (ä, ö, ü, Ä, Ö, Ü) and the German "sz" i.e. "ß" represented as "ä" (for ä) etc.
In the middle of that day they changed that, and started showing the characters themselves (in UTF-8).
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Debian passes CentOS as most popular Linux for web servers
Debian passes CentOS as most popular Linux for web servers: During the last year, Debian GNU/Linux and CentOS were the most popular Linux distributions on web servers
[…]
[…]The rise of programmable self. Quantifying your changes + motivational hacks = programmable self. by Fred Trotter
The rise of programmable self:
Programmable self is a riff on the Quantified Self (QS). It is a simple concept:
Quantify what you want to change about yourself + motivational hacks = personal change success.
[...]
Programmable self is a riff on the Quantified Self (QS). It is a simple concept:
Quantify what you want to change about yourself + motivational hacks = personal change success.
[...]
What is big data? An introduction to the big data landscape. by Edd Dumbill
What is big data?:
Big data is data that exceeds the processing capacity of conventional database systems. The data is too big, moves too fast, or doesn't fit the strictures of your database architectures. To gain value from this data, you must choose an alternative way to process it.
[…]
Big data is data that exceeds the processing capacity of conventional database systems. The data is too big, moves too fast, or doesn't fit the strictures of your database architectures. To gain value from this data, you must choose an alternative way to process it.
[…]
Thursday, January 12, 2012
vistaprint invoices vs currency characters: it's safer to print those invoices from their web-site
Flat text invoices – they are really not my favourite, because I anticipate problems with the taxman.
The flat text invoices, they send me via e-mail, are even worse: my software says, they are in UTF-8, and that's my select encoding, but still the EUR character gets displayed as "?". I doubt, my taxman would love to see this. And if the taxman is unhappy, I am unhappy as well.
But at least they offer their flat text invoices with a proper EUR character on their web-site. Relief.
The flat text invoices, they send me via e-mail, are even worse: my software says, they are in UTF-8, and that's my select encoding, but still the EUR character gets displayed as "?". I doubt, my taxman would love to see this. And if the taxman is unhappy, I am unhappy as well.
But at least they offer their flat text invoices with a proper EUR character on their web-site. Relief.
To understand the Good Samaritan, you must know a Samaritan was the last person to whom Jews would look for help
The Bad Samaritan - Biblical Archeology Society - Jewish Ideas Daily
You can't understand the story of the Good Samaritan without knowing that a Samaritan was the last kind of person to whom a Jew would look for help. Amy-Jill Levine, Biblical Archeology Society.
Google Chrome extension "Scraper"
Chrome Web Store - Scraper
A really nice and useful utility.
Looks like it currently deals deal perfectly with spanning columns, but then … something must remain for the human factor.
A really nice and useful utility.
Looks like it currently deals deal perfectly with spanning columns, but then … something must remain for the human factor.
Virtual Sweatshops Defeat CAPTCHAs
Virtual Sweatshops Defeat CAPTCHAs
I knew there was an industry around solving CAPTCHAs (to spam comments on blogs, sign up for millions of gmail accounts, etc.) but this is the first time I've seen how much you can be paid for it: employees can expect to earn between $0.35 to $1 for every thousand CAPTCHAs they solve [...] Most of our staff is from China, India, Pakistan and Vietnam. (via BoingBoing)
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
google-refine - Google Refine, a power tool for working with messy data (formerly Freebase Gridworks) - Google Project Hosting
google-refine - Google Refine, a power tool for working with messy data (formerly Freebase Gridworks) - Google Project Hosting
Watch at least the 1st video there! If you are interested in data, you may love it.
Watch at least the 1st video there! If you are interested in data, you may love it.
HealthCheck: Linux Mint
HealthCheck: Linux Mint: The success of Linux Mint is down to its usability - easy to set up and get running and then use. The latest development is a new user interface, Cinnamon. Richard Hillesley looks at the history of Mint and considers whether Cinnamon marks a turning point for the distribution
…
…
FSFE opens 2012 Document Freedom Award nominations
FSFE opens 2012 Document Freedom Award nominations: The Free Software Foundation Europe is seeking nominations for its fourth annual Document Freedom Award, which will be presented on this year's Document Freedom Day
…
…
I would have loved to suggest AVM for supporting Ogg Vorbis in their FRITZ!WLAN (WiFi) Repeater series and their FRITZ!Fon series for receiving broadcasters' live streams, but they only support MP3.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
book: The Linux Command Line
The Linux Command Line: 
The Linux Command Line takes you from your very first terminal keystrokes to writing full programs in Bash, the most popular Linux shell. Along the way you'll learn the timeless skills handed down by generations of gray-bearded, mouse-shunning gurus: file navigation, environment configuration, command chaining, pattern matching with regular expressions, and more.
The Linux Command Line takes you from your very first terminal keystrokes to writing full programs in Bash, the most popular Linux shell. Along the way you'll learn the timeless skills handed down by generations of gray-bearded, mouse-shunning gurus: file navigation, environment configuration, command chaining, pattern matching with regular expressions, and more.
The Pragmatic Bookshelf: The Developer's Code
The Developer's Code: 
You're already a great coder, but awesome coding chops aren't always enough to get you through your toughest projects. You need these 50+ nuggets of wisdom. Veteran programmers: reinvigorate your passion for developing web applications. New programmers: here's the guidance you need to get started. With this book, you'll think about your job in new and enlightened ways.
You're already a great coder, but awesome coding chops aren't always enough to get you through your toughest projects. You need these 50+ nuggets of wisdom. Veteran programmers: reinvigorate your passion for developing web applications. New programmers: here's the guidance you need to get started. With this book, you'll think about your job in new and enlightened ways.
Monday, January 9, 2012
o'Reilly Media book: Hacking Healthcare – A Guide to Standards, Workflows, and Meaningful Use
Meaningful Use and Beyond: 
Ready to take your IT skills to the healthcare industry? This concise book provides a candid assessment of the US healthcare system as it ramps up its use of electronic health records (EHRs) and other forms of IT to comply with the government’s Meaningful Use requirements. It’s a tremendous opportunity for tens of thousands of IT professionals.
Ready to take your IT skills to the healthcare industry? This concise book provides a candid assessment of the US healthcare system as it ramps up its use of electronic health records (EHRs) and other forms of IT to comply with the government’s Meaningful Use requirements. It’s a tremendous opportunity for tens of thousands of IT professionals.
book: The Information Diet: A Case for Conscious Consumption
The Information Diet: 
According to Google’s Chairman Eric Schmidt, we create more information every two days than we did throughout human history up to 2003. How can you cope with information overload? This insightful book makes a compelling case that information overload doesn't actually exist—the real problem is information overconsumption. By showing you what to look for, what to avoid, and how to be selective, The Information Diet provides a framework for consuming information in a healthy way.
According to Google’s Chairman Eric Schmidt, we create more information every two days than we did throughout human history up to 2003. How can you cope with information overload? This insightful book makes a compelling case that information overload doesn't actually exist—the real problem is information overconsumption. By showing you what to look for, what to avoid, and how to be selective, The Information Diet provides a framework for consuming information in a healthy way.
book: Breaking the Page
Breaking the Page: Preview Edition: 
A fresh, elemental look at how screen-based publications work, the kinds of material they can and should contain, and how to assemble all this new stuff in a package that's entertaining and compelling.
A fresh, elemental look at how screen-based publications work, the kinds of material they can and should contain, and how to assemble all this new stuff in a package that's entertaining and compelling.
book: PDF Explained
PDF Explained: 
An introduction to the PDF file format, threaded through with practical examples – deconstructing, creating and processing PDF files. After exploring how PDF is produced, and how it can be edited with tools from text editors to Ghostscript to PDFTK, readers will learn to deal with problems with PDF files and common error messages.
An introduction to the PDF file format, threaded through with practical examples – deconstructing, creating and processing PDF files. After exploring how PDF is produced, and how it can be edited with tools from text editors to Ghostscript to PDFTK, readers will learn to deal with problems with PDF files and common error messages.
installing pdftohtml from sources – successfully using 0.40a
- pdftohtml-0.40a.tar.gz (an experimental version from 2006-11-06 on SourceForge.net)
- as opposed to 0.39 I got this recompiled out of the box on Linux and Mac OS X Lion
True, this is not brand-new information, but I think still worth mentioning.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Atria Software's ClearCase vs. Apollo Computer's DSEE – that makes sense …
IBM Rational ClearCase - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eric S. Raymond even writes: "DSEE was rebranded as ClearCase."
Wow! Why didn't I read this in the early days of ClearCase. I don't remember any mentioning like this in the articles I read then.
Eric S. Raymond even writes: "DSEE was rebranded as ClearCase."
Wow! Why didn't I read this in the early days of ClearCase. I don't remember any mentioning like this in the articles I read then.
The History of Version Control (Francis Irving)
Astonishments, ten, in the history of version control < Francis is
Concise history of the key advances in managing source code versions. Worth it just for the delicious apposition of "history" and "version control".
"Defending Privacy at the U.S. Border: A Guide for Travelers Carrying Digital Devices" | Electronic Frontier Foundation
Defending Privacy at the U.S. Border: A Guide for Travelers Carrying Digital Devices | Electronic Frontier Foundation
a must read guide for travelers with commercial, political, or personal confidences they would like to keep
O'Reilly Media book: Head First Mobile Web
Head First Mobile Web: 
Mobile web usage is exploding. Soon, more web browsing will take place on phones and tablets than PCs. Your business needs a mobile strategy, but where do you start? Head First Mobile Web shows how to use the web tech- nology you’re already familiar with to make sites and apps that work on any device of any size. Put your JavaScript, CSS media query, and HTML5 skills to work, and then optimize your site to perform its best in the demanding mobile market. Along the way, you’ll discover how to adapt your business strategy to target specific devices.
Mobile web usage is exploding. Soon, more web browsing will take place on phones and tablets than PCs. Your business needs a mobile strategy, but where do you start? Head First Mobile Web shows how to use the web tech- nology you’re already familiar with to make sites and apps that work on any device of any size. Put your JavaScript, CSS media query, and HTML5 skills to work, and then optimize your site to perform its best in the demanding mobile market. Along the way, you’ll discover how to adapt your business strategy to target specific devices.
The Pragmatic Bookshelf: Web Development Recipes
Web Development Recipes: 
Modern web development takes more than just HTML and CSS with a little JavaScript mixed in. Clients want more responsive sites with faster interfaces that work on multiple devices, and you need the latest tools and techniques to make that happen. This book gives you more than 40 concise, tried-and-true solutions to today's web development problems, and introduces new workflows that will expand your skillset.
Modern web development takes more than just HTML and CSS with a little JavaScript mixed in. Clients want more responsive sites with faster interfaces that work on multiple devices, and you need the latest tools and techniques to make that happen. This book gives you more than 40 concise, tried-and-true solutions to today's web development problems, and introduces new workflows that will expand your skillset.
o'Reilly Media book: Code Simplicity
Code Simplicity: 
Every complexity of software design, simplified and codified at last, for use by every programmer, from the novice to the architects of major applications. This book contains the fundamental laws of software development, the primary pieces of understanding that make the difference between a mid-level/junior programmer and the high-level senior software engineer. The book exists to help all programmers understand the process of writing software, on a very fundamental level that can be applied to any programming language or project, from here into eternity. Code Simplicity is also written in such a way that even non-technical managers of software teams can gain an understanding of what the “right way” and the “wrong way” is (and why they are right and wrong) when it comes to software design. The focus of the book is primarily on “software design,” the process of creating a plan for a software project and making technical decisions about the pattern and structure of a system.
got it on 2012-07-29.
Every complexity of software design, simplified and codified at last, for use by every programmer, from the novice to the architects of major applications. This book contains the fundamental laws of software development, the primary pieces of understanding that make the difference between a mid-level/junior programmer and the high-level senior software engineer. The book exists to help all programmers understand the process of writing software, on a very fundamental level that can be applied to any programming language or project, from here into eternity. Code Simplicity is also written in such a way that even non-technical managers of software teams can gain an understanding of what the “right way” and the “wrong way” is (and why they are right and wrong) when it comes to software design. The focus of the book is primarily on “software design,” the process of creating a plan for a software project and making technical decisions about the pattern and structure of a system.
got it on 2012-07-29.
O'Reilly Media book: Machine Learning for Hackers
Machine Learning for Hackers: 
Now that storage and collection technologies are cheaper and more precise, methods for extracting relevant information from large datasets is within the reach any experienced programmer willing to crunch data. With this book, you'll learn machine learning and statistics tools in a practical fashion, using black-box solutions and case studies instead of a traditional math-heavy presentation.
Now that storage and collection technologies are cheaper and more precise, methods for extracting relevant information from large datasets is within the reach any experienced programmer willing to crunch data. With this book, you'll learn machine learning and statistics tools in a practical fashion, using black-box solutions and case studies instead of a traditional math-heavy presentation.
O'Reilly Media book: Using Mac OS X Lion Server
Using Mac OS X Lion Server: 
The new version of Apple's Mac server platform offers many new services to support workgroups at home or the office. The new software is an evolutionary revision of Snow Leopard Server, but is priced for everyone at $50. "Using OS X Lion Server" helps non-sysadmins set up and maintain services for sharing files, mail and calendars on their desktops, tablets, or mobile devices. The book covers new web, wiki, chat and podcasting server management tool, as well as tools for managing configurations of multiple OS installations across a network. The book concludes with advice for setting up a home media server. Apple has released 6 versions of their Mac server platform. The original Lion announcement said that the server components would be bundled with the OS and not marketed as a separate project. This changed in the Spring of 2011 and Apple announced the server package would be available separately for $50. Major features include: • File sharing between Mac, Windows, Linux and over the Internet • iCal Server • Wiki Server • iChat Server • Address Book Server • SMTP, POP/IMAP, mailing lists, webmail server • Server-side spam filtering and virus detection • Podcasting tools and services • Web server • Directory services and authentication • Profile manager for supporting multiple OS installations • Networking and VPN services • Distributed computing with Xgrid • Automated backups and RAID • Xsan
The new version of Apple's Mac server platform offers many new services to support workgroups at home or the office. The new software is an evolutionary revision of Snow Leopard Server, but is priced for everyone at $50. "Using OS X Lion Server" helps non-sysadmins set up and maintain services for sharing files, mail and calendars on their desktops, tablets, or mobile devices. The book covers new web, wiki, chat and podcasting server management tool, as well as tools for managing configurations of multiple OS installations across a network. The book concludes with advice for setting up a home media server. Apple has released 6 versions of their Mac server platform. The original Lion announcement said that the server components would be bundled with the OS and not marketed as a separate project. This changed in the Spring of 2011 and Apple announced the server package would be available separately for $50. Major features include: • File sharing between Mac, Windows, Linux and over the Internet • iCal Server • Wiki Server • iChat Server • Address Book Server • SMTP, POP/IMAP, mailing lists, webmail server • Server-side spam filtering and virus detection • Podcasting tools and services • Web server • Directory services and authentication • Profile manager for supporting multiple OS installations • Networking and VPN services • Distributed computing with Xgrid • Automated backups and RAID • Xsan
book: Running Lean
Running Lean: 
Are you an entrepreneur about to create a new web application? If you want to maximize your chances of building something customers want, this book demonstrates ways to apply and test techniques for customer development, Lean Startup, and bootstrapping. Learn how to identify and engage customers throughout the development cycle so you can focus on building a product that people will actually buy and use. By rigorously following the techniques described in Running Lean, you can eliminate waste—whether it's time, money, effort, or all of the above—and get your product to market quickly.
Are you an entrepreneur about to create a new web application? If you want to maximize your chances of building something customers want, this book demonstrates ways to apply and test techniques for customer development, Lean Startup, and bootstrapping. Learn how to identify and engage customers throughout the development cycle so you can focus on building a product that people will actually buy and use. By rigorously following the techniques described in Running Lean, you can eliminate waste—whether it's time, money, effort, or all of the above—and get your product to market quickly.
table_pdf2csv.pl : extracting tables from PDF, saving them as CSV
- I leave the PDF extraction bit to "pdftohtml -xml".
- My perl scripts tells you, at what "physical columns" text gets found within the PDF file.
- You choose, which "physical columns" really makes sense to you as logical column starters.
- Now you run my perl script with those few serious physical columns specified,
and it creates a CSV file for you. - Per logical row a few physical rows got created.
- If you want, you can merge cells from neighboring rows into logical cells,
you can use LibreOffice Calc, or OpenOffice Calc, or Excel for this step.
Does this sound interesting to you?
Saturday, January 7, 2012
how to nicely display CGI forms?
- formfind – a command line utility in perl, that comes with curl; it reads its input from STDIN; it is completely stand-alone; it has been my preferred utility for this purpose for a long time
- mech-dump – a command line utility in perl, that comes with perl's WWW::Mechanize, and it needs the later one installed
- Michael Schrenk's form_analyzer.php – online – you replace the original form action URL with this URL, trigger submit in your browser, and wait for a nicely formatted HTML page displayed in your browser. of course I trust Michael Schrenk, but you might have valuable contents in your HTML, so think twice, whether you want to leave it to somebody else, that you don't know at all.
WWW::Mechanize::FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions about WWW::Mechanize - metacpan.org
WWW::Mechanize::FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions about WWW::Mechanize - metacpan.org
valuable hints (more or less depending on WWW::Mechanize) regarding
- Javascript (debugging in Firebug)
- how to nicely display CGI forms (!!!) using the mech-dump utility
- …
as you would expect, it explains these WWW::Mechanize related matters:
- handling authentication
- handling proxies
- …
Friday, January 6, 2012
Private Services Are Not Public Spaces (BoingBoing)
Why we shouldn't let Google (or anyone else) claim their private services are public spaces - Boing Boing
"public spaces are where freedom of speech rules; private spaces are where owners decide what you can and cannot do. Don't mix the two up.!
from Nat Torkington's "Four short links: 6 January 2012".
my "Samsung Galaxy S II" is in "Safe mode" –– what the heck?
What takes you there? Apparently pressing the menu button during start up takes you there. I did not do that on intention. Whatever … – alright, rebooted, resolved.
Optical disc authoring - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Optical disc authoring - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
… "often referred to colloquially as burning" …
Thursday, January 5, 2012
harvesting HTML-obfuscated web-sites looks like horror to you?
I just completed 2 tasks, where I faced obfuscated CGI forms. It was quite a challenge, and I didn't anticipate the final success from the beginning. But it's done.
Now I am rather eager to apply my technology for interesting and lucrative tasks.
Now I am rather eager to apply my technology for interesting and lucrative tasks.
Trelby screenplay editor relaunched
Trelby screenplay editor relaunched: Trelby 2.0 is a multi-platform screenplay editor which, after five years, has emerged from a near-abandoned project, Blyte, to offer writers a simple but powerful tool to create scripts for filming
FreeDOS 1.1 released
FreeDOS 1.1 released: The new FreeDOS offers more up-to-date components and new drivers but doesn't currently provide all the functions that were available in version 1.0
IBM hands 222 more patents to Google
IBM hands 222 more patents to Google: Google adds more IBM patents to its armoury as, for the third time, an unspecified deal sees IBM assign patents to the search and advertising company
Android 4.0 requires default Holo theme for Android Market access
Android 4.0 requires default Holo theme for Android Market access: Android 4 device manufacturers must be more careful when customising designs, and they must implement a standard design. Google says that, rather than restrict the development of vendor-specific user interfaces, this is intended to make life easier for developers
CouchDB creator distances self from Apache project
CouchDB creator distances self from Apache project: As Couchbase drops its packaged CouchDB NoSQL database offering, the creator of the original project says he and the company are focusing on the blended CouchDB/Membase server and moving away from CouchDB development
Web servers: nginx overtakes IIS
Web servers: nginx overtakes IIS: Netcraft says, however, that the performance-optimised web server is still behind Microsoft when looking at the 900,000 most active web sites, while Apache continues to lead
O'Reilly Media book: Arduino Cookbook
Arduino Cookbook: 
This cookbook is perfect for anyone who wants to experiment with the popular Arduino microcontroller and programming environment. You’ll find more than 200 tips and techniques for building a variety of objects and prototypes such as toys, detectors, robots, and interactive clothing that can sense and respond to touch, sound, position, heat, and light.
This cookbook is perfect for anyone who wants to experiment with the popular Arduino microcontroller and programming environment. You’ll find more than 200 tips and techniques for building a variety of objects and prototypes such as toys, detectors, robots, and interactive clothing that can sense and respond to touch, sound, position, heat, and light.
O'Reilly Media book: Make a Mind-Controlled Arduino Robot
Make a Mind-Controlled Arduino Robot: 
Build a robot that responds to electrical activity in your brain—it’s easy and fun. If you’re familiar with Arduino and have basic mechanical building skills, this book will show you how to construct a robot that plays sounds, blinks lights, and reacts to signals from an affordable electroencephalography (EEG) headband. You’ll find complete instructions for building a simple robot chassis with servos, wheels, sensors, LEDs, and a speaker. You also get the code to program the Arduino microcontroller to receive wireless signals from the EEG.
Build a robot that responds to electrical activity in your brain—it’s easy and fun. If you’re familiar with Arduino and have basic mechanical building skills, this book will show you how to construct a robot that plays sounds, blinks lights, and reacts to signals from an affordable electroencephalography (EEG) headband. You’ll find complete instructions for building a simple robot chassis with servos, wheels, sensors, LEDs, and a speaker. You also get the code to program the Arduino microcontroller to receive wireless signals from the EEG.
The Pragmatic Bookshelf: Pragmatic Guide to Sass
Pragmatic Guide to Sass: 
CSS is fundamental to the web, but it's a basic language and lacks many features. Sass is just like CSS, but with a whole lot of extra power so you can get more done, more quickly. Build better web pages today with Pragmatic Guide to Sass. These concise, easy-to-digest tips and techniques are the shortcuts experienced CSS developers need to start developing in Sass today.
CSS is fundamental to the web, but it's a basic language and lacks many features. Sass is just like CSS, but with a whole lot of extra power so you can get more done, more quickly. Build better web pages today with Pragmatic Guide to Sass. These concise, easy-to-digest tips and techniques are the shortcuts experienced CSS developers need to start developing in Sass today.
O'Reilly Media book: Mapping with Drupal
Mapping with Drupal: 
Build beautiful interactive maps on your Drupal website, and tell engaging visual stories with your data. This concise guide shows you how to create custom geographical maps from top to bottom, using Drupal 7 tools and out-of-the-box modules. You’ll learn how mapping works in Drupal, with examples on how to use intuitive interfaces to map local events, businesses, groups, and other custom data.
Build beautiful interactive maps on your Drupal website, and tell engaging visual stories with your data. This concise guide shows you how to create custom geographical maps from top to bottom, using Drupal 7 tools and out-of-the-box modules. You’ll learn how mapping works in Drupal, with examples on how to use intuitive interfaces to map local events, businesses, groups, and other custom data.
book: Software Change Management: Case Studies and Practical Advice – Microsoft Press
Software Change Management: Case Studies and Practical Advice: 
Drawing from 30+ years of field experience, with case studies spanning industry, government, and academia, this practical guide illuminates the change-management approaches that lead to successful software process improvement.
Drawing from 30+ years of field experience, with case studies spanning industry, government, and academia, this practical guide illuminates the change-management approaches that lead to successful software process improvement.
book: SQL and Relational Theory - O'Reilly Media
SQL and Relational Theory: 
SQL is full of difficulties and traps for the unwary. You can avoid them if you understand relational theory, but only if you know how to put the theory into practice. In this insightful book, author C.J. Date explains relational theory in depth, and demonstrates through numerous examples and exercises how you can apply it directly to your use of SQL.
SQL is full of difficulties and traps for the unwary. You can avoid them if you understand relational theory, but only if you know how to put the theory into practice. In this insightful book, author C.J. Date explains relational theory in depth, and demonstrates through numerous examples and exercises how you can apply it directly to your use of SQL.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
euphemism - Wiktionary
euphemism - Wiktionary
The English Wiktionary article explains:
The English Wiktionary article explains:
- (uncountable) The use of a word or phrase to replace another with one that is considered less offensive or less vulgar than the word or phrase it replaces.
- (countable) (rhetoric) A word or phrase that is used to replace another in this way.
I have only known the 2nd meaning so far, but I am tempted to use the word with the 1st meaning from now on.
"what the heck?" - Wiktionary
what the heck - Wiktionary
I seriously hoped, this would be a much nicer phrase than WTF, but it's not; its wiktionary article explains:
I seriously hoped, this would be a much nicer phrase than WTF, but it's not; its wiktionary article explains:
(euphemistic) A "softer" way to say "what the hell?".For someone with a vague religious background, replacing "what the heck" with the well-known WTF is like "driving out demons by the power of Beelzeboul". You may want to read this up in the Wikipedia article on Beelzebub, another way to write Beelzeboul.
AM/FM broadcasting
- AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation
- FM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using frequency modulation
I don't remember ever having heard this explanation.
In German a different terminology is being used for radio broadcasting:
- UKW for Ultrakurzwelle, in English: VHF for very high frequency, popularly (but incorrectly) also FM
- KW for Kurzwelle, in English: SW for short wave or HF for high frequency
- MW for Mittelwelle, in English: MF for medium frequency, popularly (but incorrectly) also AM
- LW for Langwelle, in English: LowFER for Low-Frequency Experimental Radio
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Sunday, January 1, 2012
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