Illusive Studios

Rant: Get rid of Flash? Are you crazy?

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:55:56 GMT

Rant: Get rid of Flash? Are you crazy?

Before I start my rant, I have to tell you, I'm not an Apple hater. I'm more of a PC than a Mac, simply because I've just rolled that way for so long. My first computer was an Apple II-C, and after that, a Macintosh Plus. For a while after that, PCs. Currently I have a Mac Mini running Snow Leopard and I love it. I also have two computers running Windows 7 and I love those too. Yes, people DO exist that enjoy both worlds. Don't hate.

Rant on.

While people are defending the iPad (which doesn't support Flash just like the iPhone/iPod), some people are saying they don't need Flash. Some people just don't get it. Flash IS important right now. Sure you can argue that you don't need Flash on your iPhone/iPod/iPad, but are you doing that because you're trying to defend your purchase decision? Sure HTML5 will do away with the need for Flash VIDEO, but what about all the existing Flash based sites, games and apps out there? Do you ever go to your favorite music artist's site to check out new music? Chances are, their site uses Flash. You happen to use Pandora outside of your phone? That uses Flash. Do you like checking out game reviews? Their videos use Flash (and most of them don't use Youtube). Also, you're giving up all the great flash based games and apps out there. Then there's the question of how soon sites will roll out support for HTML5. Youtube is basically there, but what about Hulu or Netflix? I could bore you with a big list of video sites.

Then there are the people who say we need to get rid of Flash altogether. So I ask you...

What's the answer?

Should we get rid of Silverlight as well? If your answer is a "standard, open source" flash/silverlight-like language, what makes you think it won't just give us what we currently have with HTML? The HTML "Standard" has been around for a while now, and guess what? It's ANYTHING BUT STANDARD. Web developers still struggle on a day to day basis to get HTML displayed the same way in 5 or so browsers. You can blame IE all you want, but Firefox and Chrome have their crappy moments. If you want some kind of standard, there needs to be a set of standard unit tests for which implentations need to pass. Something similar to the Acid Test.

So I'm going to say this. Flash is here to stay... At least for a more dynamic web. Not neccessarily video. HTML5 will roll out eventually, but it won't happen overnight and there will always be a need for something more than what simple markup and javascript can bring to the table. A standard, open, flash/silverlight-language is going to take serious time before it will ever be successful. Us developers already have enough to deal with, thanks.

One thing the iPad showed us is that Apple continues to embrace a closed and highly regulated architecture on their devices.

By the way, if you're like me and need a more open phone, the Nexus One will support flash soon, has a simple way to enable multitouch support (which by the way is supported in all apps that are coded for it), supports multitasking, and they will be rolling out the phone for Verizon's network this Spring. The best of all worlds. You can thank me later.

Rant off.

Integrating/Using NUnit with Visual Studio 2008 Standard and ASP.NET MVC

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 03:37:39 GMT

Integrating/Using NUnit with Visual Studio 2008 Standard and ASP.NET MVC

If you're one of the fortunate that has access to Visual Studio 2008 Professional editions or above, you might be asking, "Why would you want to use NUnit with Visual Studio 2008 Standard?". The answer is, the Standard edition (as well as Express editions) don't come integrated with a unit testing framework, nor do they come with unit testing project templates for ASP.NET MVC like the Professional edition and above. Unit testing has become more popular lately, especially with the advantages it adds for ASP.NET MVC.

However, if you're like me and can't afford the more pricey editions, there are some third party unit testing frameworks you can still use. NUnit is not your only choice, but is one of the more common frameworks and is the one I use, so I'll tell you how to get it working within Visual Studio 2008 Standard (or Visual Web Developer Express) along with debugging support while running your unit tests in ASP.NET MVC projects.

Download and install the latest version of NUnit at http://www.nunit.org. At the time of this article, I'm using NUnit version 2.5.3.

Now you need to install the unit test project templates for C# and/or Visual Basic. I got the unit testing ASP.NET MVC project templates from Joe Cartano's blog post, but I had to slightly edit Joe's template install script "installNUnit.cmd" to make it compatible with Windows 7 (The command shell interpreter has problems with using inner-parentheses within if/else blocks whose blocks are defined using parentheses), so you might have to make some slight changes to the installNUnit.cmd script to get it working for your configuration.

If successful, when you reopen Visual Studio, you should see the unit test project under New Project -> Visual C# (or Visual Basic) -> Test -> MvcApplication.NUnit.Tests

Before creating this unit test project, create an ASP.NET MVC project, then add the unit test project to that solution. Creating a project from this unit test template will create a project with output type of library. Go into the project properties and change Output Type to a Console Application, add a reference to the nunit-gui-runner.dll assembly, then add a class file to the project and define it as such:

using System; using System.Reflection; namespace TestMvc.Tests { class Program { [STAThread] static void Main(string[] args) { NUnit.Gui.AppEntry.Main(new string[] { Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location }); } } }

Now when you run the unit test project in the debugger in the IDE, it will start the NUnit GUI, and since you are running NUnit from within your code in the IDE, you'll even be able to step through code in the debugger as you run your unit tests from within the NUnit GUI.

Sunset from a balcony in Overland Park 2009

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 06:08:55 GMT

Sunset from a balcony in Overland Park 2009

It's been two years since my wife Anna and I moved to Overland Park, Kansas and we've been enjoying life here. We've had one of the nicer (and more expensive) views from the balcony of our apartment that you could possibly get in this area and I thought I'd share some of these views with you before we move to a cheaper and far less scenic place. Enjoy.

Taken March 28th 2009. We knew from the forecast that we were going to get snow, but waking up to it was still a shock this time of year. It all melted the next day. Typical Midwest weather! Funny thing is you can see the fountain running in the center of the pond.

Taken April 4th 2009. We've seen some very amazing sunsets from this apartment. The view will be missed.

More photos of the same sunset.

C#.NET - Initialize auto-properties in Visual Studio 2008 like 2005

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 16:02:24 GMT

C#.NET - Initialize auto-properties in Visual Studio 2008 like 2005

If you're like me, you like to use the "prop" snippet from Visual Studio 2005. If you don't know what I'm talking about, with a C# file open in Visual Studio 2005 (or 2008), type: prop then hit tab twice. In 2005, you are able to initialize the variable like so:

private string _name = "default"; public string Name { get { return _name; } set { _name = value; } }

However, in 2008, prop tab tab gives you the following..

public string Name { get; set; }

This is a problem because there's no simple quick way to initialize the variable.
You can initialize it in a constructor, but what if you're using a static class? You're only other option is to use a DefaultValue attribute like so:

[DefaultValue("default")] public string Name { get; set; }

The problem with using the DefaultValue attribute is that, as far as I know, it requires using Reflection. So not only is it a pain to type, you also take a performance hit.

The way that 2005 handled it still works in 2008, so the easiest solution is to use the snippet from 2005 in 2008. I have created a propx snippet to handle just that. Simply unzip and put the propx.snippet file into your My Code Snippets folder (in Windows 7 this is located at C:\Users\Gordon\Documents\Visual Studio 2008\Code Snippets\Visual C#\My Code Snippets\), restart visual studio then type propx tab tab to use it.

Grand Canyon South Rim 2009 Windows 7 Theme

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 16:20:09 GMT

Grand Canyon South Rim 2009 Windows 7 Theme

My wife and I took a trip to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon on New Years Day this year. What a fantastic trip. I took several photos, and wanted to use my favorites for a Windows 7 themepack. The result is my first Windows 7 themepack. If you find anything wrong with it, let me know by leaving a comment.

Download the Grand Canyon South Rim 2009 Windows 7 Theme

How to format XML in Smultron

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 20:34:11 GMT

How to format XML in Smultron

In my quest to find a great text/code editor for Mac OS-X, so far, I've chosen Smultron. It has a nice set of features for what I need: It supports Unicode, can display East Asian characters just fine (shame on you TextMate), has project support, syntax highlighting, auto-complete and more, and it's free. Most importantly, it also has support to configure and run shell commands, which means you can use other apps to modify the text. One thing I found missing right off the bat was the ability to format, tabify, and indent XML, so it's time to find a command to format XML and integrate it with Smultron.

There is a fantastic command "tidy", which can format and indent XML elements among other things. The tidy command came with my Mac Mini (running Leopard), but if you need to install it, you can find tidy at http://tidy.sourceforge.net.

The command can be run like so:
/usr/bin/tidy -xml -utf8 -indent -modify filename.xml

This will indent the UTF-8 formatted XML within filename.xml.
If the command doesn't work for you, the command options might be different for your version of tidy. You can check the tidy help by running tidy -?

Now that we know how to use tidy, we can create a command within Smultron. While in Smultron, press Command-B to open the Commands window.

Choose a Collection where you want to create the new command. I created a new collection called "Format". To do this, click the "New Collection" button, give it a the name "Format". Make sure the "Format" collection is selected, then click the "New Command" button (a plus symbol). Name the command something like "XML UTF-8" and in the bottom pane, type the following:

/usr/bin/tidy -xml -utf8 -indent -modify %%p

The %%p is a variable that will be the full path to the document that is currently selected within Smultron. You can also provide a shortcut key to run the command without having to use the menus.

That's it! Now you can try it out. Write a chunk of XML that is not yet indented. The XML must be well-formed, or tidy will notify you of errors. Once you have some XML to try it out with, and you have the XML file saved and loaded into Smultron, go the Tools menu -> Commands -> Format -> XML UTF-8. You should see a output dialog window pop-up to display the output from tidy. This is where tidy will display any errors if it has found any.

One thing you'll see is that your XML still doesn't appear to have been formatted. You simply need to reload the XML file in Smultron. The command to reload the file is actually the "Revert to Saved" command. In this case, reverting to the saved version will load the more current version of the file. So to reload the file, press Shift-Command-U, or select "Revert" from the File menu.

If you have a better way of handling this, I'd love to hear it. Sound off in the comments.

How to restore missing Windows Service templates in Visual Studio 2005

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 07:06:35 GMT

How to restore missing Windows Service templates in Visual Studio 2005

I needed to write a Windows Service using Visual Studio 2005 Standard at home, however when I went to New Project, I was missing the Windows Service project template. Ok, weird. So a quick web search and I found a post with similar instructions on how to restore the Windows Service project templates.

Basically what it says is, you need to download the Windows Service template zip files:
C# Windows Service Template
VB Windows Service Template
(Hosted at megaupload.com)

Put the C# template file here:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\Common7\IDE\ProjectTemplates\CSharp\Windows\1033\

Put the VB template file here:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\Common7\IDE\ProjectTemplates\VisualBasic\Windows\1033\

Close all vstudio instances.
Open Visual Studio Command Prompt (not the normal command prompt) and run the following (You might need to run Visual Studio Command Prompt as Administrator if using Vista or Windows 7):
devenv /installvstemplates

Now you should see the templates within Visual Studio and life is good. Now go eat a cookie.

Desktop Feng Shui 2

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 01:55:36 GMT

Desktop Feng Shui 2

A few things have changed since my previous Desktop Feng Shui.

My older Viewsonic LCD no longer works, so I ended up getting an HP w2207h LCD. In fact, BOTH of my Viewsonic LCDs no longer work, so my wife had to revert back to using her smaller, older Samsung SyncMaster 730B LCD. (She didn't want to get a newer LCD.)

I really like the HP w2207h, esp because my wife was able to find it for about $160. It only comes with VGA and HDMI inputs (no DVI), so some people might think that's a big drawback, but it doesn't matter to me. My cousin is about to visit from Georgia, and we do a lot of video gaming, so I will use my LCD to hook the 360 up via HDMI, so we have the option of playing on two systems simultaneously (sometimes we will play our own games at the same time, other times we'll play multiplayer games together). Anyway, for $160, it's practically a steal. Furthermore the HP can rotate into portrait mode, which I like to use a lot.

The HP Pavilion tx2120us Tablet PC Laptop running Windows 7 & the Mac Mini with HP w2207h LCD running OS X Leopard. I want to get Apple's Wireless Keyboard along with a wireless logitech mouse, but for now I'm using my Z-Board and an old junky Logitech mouse.

I'll be using the new Mac Mini to learn programming for the Mac (Cocoa), Flex 3/Adobe Air development, and possibly for some iPhone development in the future. What's great about the small size is, I'll be able to take it with me to Korea in mid May.

How to Enable Windows Sharing in Mac OS-X Leopard

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 01:13:11 GMT

How to Enable Windows Sharing in Mac OS-X Leopard

Being quite the Mac OS-X newb, I had a little trouble knowing how to share files from my PC to my Mac. Apparently there are still quite a lot of confused people out there in various threads and forums, so I thought I might help clear up with providing my experience on how I got it working. From what others have said, this used to be much easier in OS-X Tiger, and it was a change made in Leopard that is causing all the fuss. I used to have a Macbook Pro and I didn't seem to have this problem, even while using Leopard, but it is definitely an issue on the recently released new Mac Mini.

I will explain how to connect to a windows workgroup, because that's how my network is set up. For other network configurations, this obviously may not work. Furthermore, this only explains how to get your Mac to see Windows shares. My Windows PC can see my Mac Mini, but it cannot access any shares. I'm guessing I need to authenticate somehow, but I'm not sure yet. I'll update if I find out how to get it working the other direction (from Windows to Mac).

Instructions:

Go to System Preferences -> Network -> Advanced -> WINS
Select or type in the workgroup name you want your Mac to join. Click OK & Apply.
Go to System Preferences -> Sharing
Check "File Sharing" then click "Options"
AFP should already be checked. Check SMB, and check the user you want to use for file sharing (You'll need to authenticate.) Click Done.
Restart Finder. To do this, hold the Option key down while clicking the Finder icon in the dock, and select Relaunch. (Or restart your Mac)
Now open Finder and you should see a section on the left pane titled "Shared" and under it, you should see your Windows PCs that are in the workgroup.
To connect, depending on which Windows OS the PC is running, you might simply be able to double click to get in. Otherwise, you'll need to authenticate to your Windows PC (I had to do this to connect to my Windows 7 beta laptop). To authenticate, first click the server in the left pane of the Finder. Click the "Connect As..." button in the upper right of the Finder. Log in using your Windows username and password. (make sure you have a folder shared on your Windows PC)

If all goes well, you should have access to your Windows PC shares.

Best of Antiloop Playlist

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 18:10:02 GMT

Best of Antiloop Playlist

Robin Söderman & David Westerlund formed Antiloop, a Progressive Trance group in 1994 in Stockholm, Sweden. The group has broken up, but it looks like David is still DJ'ing. Antiloop's official site said "coming soon" for years, but to no avail, it never went back up. I spent many countless hours listening to their music while coding throughout college '96 through 2001, and I still listen to them now and again while coding. So I decided to make this playlist as a tribute to Robin, David and Antiloop. Enjoy!