tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42100757843635702042009-07-14T23:16:23.028-07:00A discussion of current trends and business opportunities available in the open source software development market.James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210075784363570204.post-57215484715580242422008-12-17T20:54:00.000-08:002008-12-17T21:34:55.113-08:00

I read an intriguingly funny article tonight. The reason it's so funny is that it's very applicable to me at the moment. My brother and I have been burning firewood for heat this winter in Portland, Oregon. We've actually obtained our fire wood from many different Craigslist advertisements, such as the one featured in this article's screen shot, and we have made some extra income selling our

James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210075784363570204.post-42573188019935309222008-09-21T15:39:00.000-07:002008-09-21T18:02:54.316-07:00

I work with a client who uses Dreamhost as the hosting provider for a new web application. My client works with several other contractors besides myself. Some have been only temporary contracts while others have been more long-term. For the initial phase of development, all development was done on local servers, and there was only one hostname for the website.One of the newest consultants

James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210075784363570204.post-58230188687129671662008-09-01T22:09:00.001-07:002008-09-01T22:24:35.133-07:00

While most of us spent our Labor Day weekend camping, barbecuing, or in my case, moving into a new home, the marketing team at Google was laboring away releasing marketing materials on what seems to be the next evolution of the web!Google Chrome, a fully open source multi-process web browser, addresses many of the woes that most web surfers encounter on a daily basis. Instead of being concerned

James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210075784363570204.post-14589166392791736942008-07-21T20:30:00.000-07:002008-12-10T07:24:17.216-08:00

Proof that JavaScript and Java are Pass By ValuePass by value and pass by reference can be daunting at times, and I too have been confused and frustrated at all of the babbling about whether or not Java is one or the other, that is, until I saw an article featuring the Litmus test. I've seen the Litmus test in college, but it didn't make sense completely until reading Scott Stanchfield's "Dammit

James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210075784363570204.post-40957700900748126202008-07-13T16:40:00.000-07:002008-07-13T23:36:31.584-07:00

As of the date of this article, there are currently not a lot of resources on the Internet regarding how to transform XML that contains namespaces. Yahoo's Weather Web Services API returns data in the form of RSS, and this data is formatted not only with elements and attributes, but also with namespaces.I'm experimenting with the Yahoo Weather API for a potential project I may work on.

James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210075784363570204.post-77058448463897177172008-07-05T14:19:00.000-07:002008-12-10T07:24:17.816-08:00

How to Share a VMWare Image Between Windows XP and Ubuntu 8.04Sharing a VMWare Image in a dual-boot setup involves the following prerequisites:- One ntfs partition with Windows XP Professional installed- One ext3 partition with Ubuntu 8.04 installed- One fat32 partition, shared between Ubuntu and Windows- At least 1GB of RAM- VMPlayer installed in both Windows XP and Ubuntu 8.04- VMImages, stored

James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210075784363570204.post-44674240714841298762008-06-28T16:43:00.000-07:002008-06-28T17:48:38.404-07:00

Deadlines approach fast! In times like these, it's oh so helpful to be able to dig a tunnel from your office to your home so that you have access to the tools that you need! Right now you have images of me under the ground with a shovel slowly scooping through layers of packed dirt. I'm not using shovels. I didn't break a sweat, and I didn't have to use a single gallon of gasoline!I installed

James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210075784363570204.post-49569267575642418582008-06-27T21:45:00.000-07:002008-06-27T22:16:18.381-07:00

Don't get too excited. The Multiple HTML Reply Signatures Extension 1.0.2.3 update doesn't include too many new features. I got rid of the red update link that appears in the toolbar. I don't think it was working correctly. In addition, it took up valuable browser real estate. Bad idea. I did try to see what would happen in Firefox 3. Sadly, the Firefox Extension doesn't work in Mozilla's

James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210075784363570204.post-59053762795948247332008-06-10T21:54:00.000-07:002008-07-05T17:45:44.176-07:00

I don't use many JavaScript libraries, I prefer to write my own implementations of code that I need so that I don't have to import the entire library (although the example I am referring to in this post was not written by me). With Java, the compiler weeds out things you don't use, but the browser doesn't. There is really no mainstream mechanism for the browser to say "Only import method X".

James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210075784363570204.post-52309742031458866142008-05-25T13:58:00.000-07:002008-05-25T13:58:01.077-07:00

This article is in response to a comment left on this article.Below is an excerpt of the GPL from http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html:When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not price. Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that you have the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for them if you wish), that you receive source code or can get

James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210075784363570204.post-81907844447383024552008-05-10T14:04:00.000-07:002008-05-11T14:04:11.093-07:00

Are you concerned about having your Firefox Extension JavaScript code compromised? XPI files can be extracted and code can be easily viewed. One solution that works very well for many organizations that wish to keep their JavaScript code secret is to use a JavaScript obfuscator. Also known as a script compiler or script compressor, an obfuscator takes human-readable JavaScript code and

James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210075784363570204.post-16877070392835163542008-04-05T15:30:00.000-07:002008-12-10T07:24:17.983-08:00

At my place of work, Model View Controller is a common architectural pattern used as the foundation for the applications that we develop and maintain. MVC is a common pattern that can be seen in just about any software industry, from Agile development shops to those that follow the more traditional models of development.As Computer Scientists, we often look for ways to solve a problem not once,

James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210075784363570204.post-69276384004987174542008-03-19T21:05:00.000-07:002008-03-19T21:02:46.204-07:00

Quoted from Joel On Software - Some interesting jobs:"My pet theory is that if the person who takes the call when a customer is missing, say, the Pear Mail module, if this person is the same person who maintains the setup code, then they will eventually get sick of sshing into customers' servers and typing "pear install Mail" for them and they'll just fix it in the setup code once and for all.

James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210075784363570204.post-4397684472459712312008-03-13T20:46:00.000-07:002008-03-13T20:48:50.852-07:00

Gmail HTML Reply Signatures Greasemonkey ScriptThe company I work for uses Gmail for email communications. Specifically, the service the company uses is part of the Google Apps bundle of services, and it's the same service that I use for my blog email. As many of you may know, custom signatures through Gmail can't contain HTML by default. However, HTML Multiple Reply Signatures for Gmail

James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210075784363570204.post-91018387221070264762008-03-05T22:28:00.000-08:002008-07-05T15:11:30.405-07:00

Backup HumorI just bought a Seagate OneTouch 4 Maxtor 500GB external hard drive. The hard drive is marketed for backup purposes and comes with the backup software installed on the hard drive. Below is a note included in the instructions for step 2:Note: It is highly recommended that you copy the current contents of the OneTouch 4 to your computer before proceeding. Reference Seagate Knowledge

James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210075784363570204.post-47445057281570114482008-01-12T12:16:00.001-08:002008-12-10T07:24:18.301-08:00

Oops! That's the sound of the second most common type of data loss! We've all done it at one point or another. No matter what industry you are in, whether it be software development, information technology, automotive repair, or homemaking, you've most likely experienced some form of data loss caused by some form of human error. According to several resources, this type of data loss accounts

James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210075784363570204.post-63126156640762962512007-12-08T12:05:00.000-08:002007-12-08T12:49:41.325-08:00

One of my coworkers recently came up with what I thought was a really good idea. He suggested that the company allocate time for us to blog. From a marketing standpoint, this could be good public relations in terms of finding both customers and employees, but from a business standpoint, there is a danger of compromising corporate intellectual property. A lot of other companies have been

James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210075784363570204.post-68749139037247089222007-11-27T18:44:00.000-08:002007-11-27T18:45:06.291-08:00

"Perhaps this is what needs to happen. Every Linux seller from Novell to Dell (via Canonical) buys air time during the Super Bowl and co-ops a website and a call center phone number for people interested in getting more information." - Matt Hartley at Mad Penguin dot orgAt the beginning of 2007, I was saying the same thing! I was extremely disappointed during the last Super Bowl! Well, not

James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210075784363570204.post-68824780177964167732007-11-10T10:54:00.000-08:002007-11-10T11:07:28.947-08:00

Google has released a new version of Gmail. The ui parameter that appeared in the URL recently, the one that broke the HTML Reply Signatures for Gmail Signatures Firefox Extension and Greasemonkey, was part of the plan for allowing users to switch between the newer version and the older version.How to Go Back to Gmail's Older Version explains more of the details regarding the new version

James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210075784363570204.post-77140426651583896152007-11-01T20:03:00.000-07:002008-12-10T07:24:18.705-08:00

Rebooting Linux. These are two words that are seldom said in the same sentence. Its something that most Linux users just never think about; but recently, rebooting Linux was the topic of conversation between myself, and a coworker with a Windows background."Why are we using Linux as a server?", she asked. This is a very good question that is likely to evoke a myriad of different responses. "

James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210075784363570204.post-3401937102810403592007-10-27T17:08:00.000-07:002008-07-05T15:13:54.306-07:00

As part of my Microsoft Windows XP Quit Date strategy, I have been looking into using VMWare as a replacement technology for my Microsoft Virtual PC images. I started using Virtual PC as a replacement for my dual-boot setup. I still have a dual-boot (actually a tri-boot setup), but I rarely, if ever, use it. The problem is that everything that I do need is on my Windows XP, NTFS-formatted, C:

James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210075784363570204.post-80588587572079677362007-10-21T20:50:00.000-07:002007-10-21T20:48:58.729-07:00

I'm working on a project for Edúcate Ya that involves placing a calendar on the home page. The idea is that the calendar will be used to display any public events, classes, guided trips, fund raiser events, and anything else of importance that an organization may want to advertise on a web page. NavCalendar Application - Navigational CalendarEach event listed on the calendar would be a hyper

James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210075784363570204.post-71707503515212476542007-10-16T23:00:00.000-07:002008-12-10T07:24:18.864-08:00

I knew it was going to happen one day, I just wasn't sure exactly when. I knew one day the script would suddenly stop working. Not because code rusts. Or because the code cracked like glass, but because the foundation that it depends on cracked. Well, it didn't really crack. It's more like what happens when a house settles. It's just digging itself in. Gmail was digging itself in. The

James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210075784363570204.post-19511123873265961182007-10-11T22:30:00.000-07:002008-07-05T15:26:20.917-07:00

Larry Wakeman of Memory Pharmaceuticals recently sent me a reminder about a follow-up article that I forgot to write. Back in April, I addressed the concept of quotes within quotes within quotes and how to handle this phenomenon. Any programmer who has ever had to write Greasemonkey scripts, as well as to perform any type of server-side or client-side programming has or will encounter this

James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4210075784363570204.post-65979477759489346562007-10-07T00:45:00.000-07:002008-12-10T07:24:19.170-08:00

10/09/07 UPDATE: Due to a change made to the Gmail URL structure, the HTML Multiple Reply Signatures Extension suddenly stopped working. I've updated the URL to reflect the newest, working version.There have been some problems with the Firefox Extension that can make inserting HTML signatures in Gmail somewhat of a hassle. However, in spite of these issues, people have been downloading and

James Mortensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14761411429474089032noreply@blogger.com7