Search Results for java
Slide shows based on HTML, CSS, & JavaScript
PowerPoint pretty much sucks, for a variety of reasons. And in that group I also include OpenOffice.org Impress (which I personally choose to suffer through) and Apple's Keynote. They all just suck in different ways. Being a Web dude, I've always looked for a web-based solution, and now there appears to be two contenders: Dave Raggett's Slidy (he's the guy who invented the awesome Tidy, so you know he's a smart cookie) and Eric Meyer's (we all must bow to him & his CSS godly knowledge) S5, which stands for Simple Standards-Based Slide Show System.
Both are good, & both work the same: they provide you with the CSS files (which you can customize ... & which you should customize, so your templates are unique) and JavaScript, & your job is put your entire presentation in an XHTML file. If you know HTML, this will be easy; if you don't ... well, there's always Impress! Based on my experimentation with both, I'm going to use S5. It supports font scaling a bit better, & it has some features that ...
Pushback on increased Java dependencies in OpenOffice.org 2.0
About a month ago I mentioned some of the
good & some of the bad we can expect in the upcoming release of OpenOffice.org 2.0. Bruce Byfield has followed up
with another article at NewsForge titled "Java
fallout: OpenOffice.org 2.0 and the FOSS community" that does a good job discussing the ramifications of the OOo
developers' decision to increase OOo's dependencies on Java. Since Java isn't really open source, that decision is
causing a lot of headaches and issues throughout the open source world, as certain distros promise not to include OOo
and certain others pledge to continue shipping it.
Of course, all this could be avoided if Sun would just open source Java, but they're too busy trying to craft a
strategy to save their behinds right now to keep their eye on that ball. Instead, it appears that the strong presence
of Sun developers among the OOo community has led to the increased use of Java, and now it may blow up in everyone's
faces. This really is not good at all. At this time, I ...
Install the JRE in Debian
As I recently pointed out, Sun finally changed its license so that distros like Debian can include the Sun JRE. Thanks, Sun! Here's the command you need to run:
apt-get install sun-java5-jre sun-java5-plugin sun-java5-fonts sun-java5-bin
That'll do it, fair readers.
(Check out all of our posts on Sun and Java.) ...
Sun grows a brain; will make it easier to include JRE on Linux
Well, golly, it only took what - about 10 years? But finally someone at Sun - maybe its the new CEO, Jonathan Schwartz - has seen the light & will make it far easier for Linux distros to include the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). Up to now, Linux users have had to download the JRE, and Sun didn't exactly make that task simple, or they've had to use repositories that did the work for them, but those weren't fully kosher, so that was always non-obvious as well. Now, though, you should be able to install your distro, & the JRE will come with it. Wow, how handy ... just as Java finds itself being eclipsed by gads of other languages and options, now we'll be able to enjoy it in its sunset years. Thanks, Sun!
(Check out all of our posts on Sun & Java.) ...
How to install the JRE on Debian - the Debian way
Due to Sun's licensing of Java & the JRE, the Debian project can't include the JRE in the default APT
repositories, which is a PITA, to say the least. However, I found a really good write-up of the best way to install the
JRE in a way that uses dpkg. I've tried it, and it works very well. Now I have my own .deb that I can use on any of my
other machines, and life is good. For the whole poop & nothin' but the poop, see
"Java: Sun JRE/JDK Installation on Debian". If you use Debian,
you'll be glad you did. ...
Adding the good stuff to a default SUSE install
OK, you just got done installing SUSE, & now it's time to play an MP3. Ooops! Can't! Java applets? Nope. Flash?
Uh-uh. Windows Media? Are you kiddin'? So, if you want to enjoy all that cool stuff that SUSE can't just include due to
crazy licenses and stupid laws, you need to read
Hacking OpenSUSE & follow the instructions
contained within. Consider it absolutely essential reading if you're using SUSE.
(Check out all of my posts on SUSE.) ...
Make SUSE 10.1 even cooler
The new SUSE 10.1 is getting great reviews, & is undoubtedly the best SUSE yet. However, even something that is great can always be made better, & that's where Jem Matzan's "Hacking SUSE Linux 10.1" comes in. Want to know how to add support for Java, Flash, Acrobat, Windows Media, RealPlayer, ATI & nVidia graphics cards, XGL/Compiz (only the coolest eye candy EVER), & commercial DVD movies? Then go read that article & follow its advice!
(Check out all of our posts on SUSE.) ...
OpenOffice.org 2.0 beta packages available for Debian
Debian users! Are you interested in living on the bleedingest bleeding edge? Are you an OOo fanatic? Are you willing
& able to use & deal with buggy buggy buggy software? Do you want to try out OOo 2.0 beta debs before anyone
else? Are you feelin' brave? And lucky?
If you answered "Yes" to ALL the previous questions, then head over to
http://people.debian.org/~halls/openoffice/test/ooo1.9-java/,
download the debs, & install 'em. OOo 2.0 will be placed into /opt/openoffice1.9.62, so it shouldn't interfere with
your current install of OOo.
Oh yeah - if this borks your machine, wellllllll, I am NOT responsible. Remember the Debian motto: "If you break
Debian, you get to keep both pieces!" ...
SUSE review day: #5
It's SUSE review day on the Open Source Weblog, & this is review #5. Five. Five paragraph essays, 5 o'clock
shadow, Hawaii Five-O. Five.
Review: SUSE Professional
9.3
The always-interesting NewsForge looks at SUSE 9.3. They like it, but they're not afraid to detail the problem
areas, especially Beagle (just like Vaughan-Nichols did) & the lack of the Java Media Framework. But overall,
he thinks this is a good distro.
"I found this latest version, released in March, to be an excellent implementation of the Linux operating
system. It brings Linux's levels of ease of use and configurability to an all-time high."
(Check out all of my posts on SUSE &
Beagle.) ...
Open source PDF libraries
Like them or loathe them, PDFs have become a staple of the World Wide Web diet. If you're a Web developer, it's
likely you've been asked if you can produce PDFs on the fly from your applications and services. It used to be hard
work, but now a plethora of open source PDF libraries exist to make it an easy task:
C#: SharpPDF
Java: iText
Python: The ReportLab Toolkit (this
library is particularly mature and well documented)
Ruby: PDF::Writer (in pure Ruby and
available via gems)
Perl:
PDF::CreateSimple,
PDF::Create,
PDF (primarily for parsing)
PHP: FPDF (unlike PDFlib, commercial usage is free)
(Check out all of our posts on PDF.) ...
The Splendiferous Debian FAQ
Wanna find out more about Debian? I mean, a lot more? A whole heck of a lot more? Got questions about Debian that
you need answered? Then you need to hie thee over to the Debian FAQ, a
document that attempts to cover high level Q's about Debian (On what hardware architectures/systems does Debian
GNU/Linux run? [How] Does Debian support Java? How can I tell what packages are already installed on a Debian system?
How can I ensure that all programs use the same paper size?), often pointing users to other, more in-depth Debian
docs.
(Check out all of our posts on Debian.) ...
OpenOffice.org 2.0 overview
NewsForge has an overview of the upcoming OpenOffice.org 2.0 on its site:
"First look: OpenOffice.org
version 2.0 beta". If you use OOo, or recommend it to others, or even if you use Microsoft Office, you owe it to
yourself to read it.
The good: a ton of new features, especially for Writer. Word count (finally!). A better installer (at least for
Windows; since I use Debian Linux, installation is just an apt-get install openoffice.org for me). Better,
more "normal" toolbar behaviors. Renaming "AutoPilot" to "Wizard" (the reviewer doesn't think it's necessary, but I
think it'll help Windows users). The recent file list now shows 10, not 4, items (thank you!). Tables can now break
across multiple pages (thank {diety}!). The adoption of the OASIS file formats (supported by everyone except … you know
who!). Better mail merge, which I've complained about before.
The bad: Charting still sucks. Some changes in OOo tools that limit functionality in order to be more like MSFT
Office (wow ...
Join our team: we're hiring web developers and tech gurus
Note: this is not a call for bloggers. I'm not looking for someone to write for this blog. If you want to do
that, apply here. This is a call for developers.
If you're reading our tech blogs, you probably know someone — or are someone — who works on web applications. We're
expanding our Weblogs, Inc. tech team, looking for web developers and technical web designers for full-time
positions.
The exact skills are less important than these traits: bright, energetic,
blog savvy, great communication skills (email, IM and in person), organization and problem solving.
I'm not looking to fill a specific role like "MySQL developer". I want to find two or three people who know how to keep
this giant blogging platform flying along and contribute to our always-changing stream of web projects.
But just so we don't get people expecting to work on something else we don't use, here are some real skills we
need:
Apache, PHP and MySQL
ASP/VBScript, Microsoft ...
More thoughts on Google's AutoLink
On 2 March, SecurityFocus published my column Where is Google
Headed? (and reprinted at The Register), a
look at Google's new AutoLink
feature for its Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer. I'm critical of the feature, and although I was attacked on other
blogs, and even called both greedy and a hypocrite, I still stand by my column. I've done more thinking about the
AutoLink issue since my column came out, and I'd like to further my arguments with some clarification. Understand that
I'm a fervent supporter of Rip, Mix, Burn
culture, and I firmly believe that users have the right to alter web pages once they're in a user's web browser
cache … but I think AutoLink - as currently implemented by Google - is a very bad idea.
The key distinction for me is this: I don't like it when large corporations make wide-ranging decisions for users
that disadvantage those that the corporations choose not to favor. So, for instance, I like the Firefox
Greasemonkey extension, but I don't like AutoLink. ...
"Why isn't BitTorrent faster?", he asked.
I'm on a mailing list for web developers, & recently one of the guys on the list told he was using Tomato
Torrent (a BitTorrent client) on his Mac OS X box to download a 1.3 GB file, and it had taken almost a day so far,
& he was less than half way there. His point: "I thought the whole point of Bittorrent was to make the process
FAST. I could have FTP'd 1.3 gig much faster."
Here's my reply: ...
