Raible Designs

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What a 3 GHz Processor will do for you

I finally got around to installing Java, Ant and Tomcat today, so here's some compilation numbers for you (from the new laptop):

• Running "ant clean package-web" on AppFuse: 12 seconds (vs. 2GHz/512MB Desktop: 18 seconds)
• Running "ant rebuild" on Roller: 24 seconds (vs. 2GHz/512MB Desktop: 36 seconds)

Now those are numbers I like to see! Does that mean that you get a 33% performance increase for every GHz of CPU you add to your machine? The annoying thing I'm experiencing today is that the fan comes on about a minute after it shuts off, and then it stays on. Not a big deal if I've got headphones on, but in cube land (where you can hear each other typing) it's kinda loud. I'm also growing to loath the mouse (same as PowerBook, but two buttons - yeah!) - just b/c it's a laptop mouse (solution: KVM)

In other news, tomorrow is my last day at Comcast. It's been great working here - awesome folks to work with, cool company, very cool project. I'm leaving a week early b/c I got a small contract to write a webapp for a company in Florida. It should only take me a week or so, and I'll be doing it out of Raible Designs' HQ, so it'll be nice to see the fam a bit more. After that - who knows? I have a few irons in the fire (as Russ would say), but nothing is final yet.

First impressions of the ZX7

When I bought my PowerBook, it was at a disadvantage because all of my comparisons where not only Laptop vs. Desktop, but also OS X vs. Windows XP. With this laptop, it's really just Laptop vs. Laptop. First impression of this thing - it's HUGE! The screen is awesome and it's tough to watch TV and work on this at the same time. I was expecting better resolution (1400 x 900 max), but it's good enough. The keyboard rocks - it's actually a full size keyboard! I keep making typing mistakes because I'm used to the (smaller) PowerBook's keyboard. Even better - it's got a keypad! I really like the plastic piece where my wrists sit. On the PowerBook, this is metal - and it quickly got scratched up from my watch. The speakers are great (the PowerBooks sucked) and I dig the webcam at the top of the monitor (though it's a bit dark - maybe it's just cause it's night time). I like Hypersonic's setup - very minimal as far as packaging. All the CDs are on the hard drive as well as in a small bag, which was enclosed in a leather (or maybe it's pleather?) carrying case.

Now for the cons. It's heavy and hot - both which I expected. You gotta install Java - both OS X and Linux come with it installed. The embedded wireless card only seems to work when I'm 5 feet from my access point. I have a couple of wireless cards, so I plugged one in and now I'm able to write this from my living room. Hopefully Hypersonic will be able to fix that. I kinda like the CD drive on the PowerBook better - though it can be a real pain when you can't get a CD out. The power cord has a humongous adapter-thingy on it - makes me long for the rather small PowerBook's cord. No NetNewsWire - good thing I still have a PowerBook. There are two folders on my C-Drive (with GUID-like names) that I can't delete. That sucks - I've been here before and never found a way to delete them (save re-installing Windows). Also, the lit-up keyboard on the new PowerBooks is a nice feature that I could really use right now.

Lastly, the performance numbers for opening Photoshop and Eclipse:

• Opening Photoshop 7.0: 5 seconds
• Opening Eclipse 3.0 M2: 5 seconds

Damn, not the performance jump I was hoping for. I'll post AppFuse and Roller compilation numbers when I get everything setup. Here are numbers to compare against the 2 GHz desktop I have at work. Am I happy with my decision? You bet - it's a wicked laptop.

RE: Professional JSP, 3rd Edition

Simon has the inside scoop on (what was) Professional JSP 2.0. He must have some good connections to get this info. I dig that Amazon is listing it and especially that I got mentioned as an Author! Hopefully they fix this little mishap and do an et. al. or something. I'd better do a screenshot so I can have proof that my name was listed at one point.

A beautiful e-mail

From Julie:

your laptop is here. love you!

I'm starting to shake with anxiety! Today shouldn't be as bad as the day I received my PowerBook. It was January 2002 and there was an Apple conference where Steve Jobs was giving his keynote. I was worried that he would announce new PowerBooks, and I was going to return it if he did. So I had to sit there for hours with the un-opened box saying "OPEN ME". At least today, I'm stuck at work and I've got plans for most of the evening. Then an interview first thing tomorrow morning. The anxiety might be around for quite some time.

Tomcat 4.1.27 + Apache 2.0.47 on Red Hat 9

I decided to upgrade my Apache and Tomcat installations on my Red Hat 9 box this morning. In doing so, I found that no binary jk connectors existed for Apache 2.0.47 on Linux. So I built one, and updated my Apache 2.x + Tomcat 4.1.x Article for the latest and greatest versions. Also, when building Apache with SSL, I found that there were a bunch of symlinks I had to create for RH 9. So I updated my Apache + SSL Article as well. If I had the time/motivation, I'd port these to the wiki and the community could keep them up-to-date. Maybe when I'm really bored.

Tomcat 4.1.27 Hotfix

FYI - there's a patch for Tomcat 4.1.27 to fix the webapp reload bug. To install, download into your $CATALINA_HOME directory and execute:

tar xzf 4.1.27-hotfix-22096.tar.gz

Eclipse in Action at Denver JUG next week

Next week, David Gallardo (an Author of Eclipse in Action) will be doing a presentation at the Denver Java User Group. I'll be there for the JDOM presentation in the Basic Concepts group as well. There's a short review of Eclipse in Action vs. Java Developer's Guide To Eclipse over at JavaRanch.

... after reading both books in the past week, I come to the conclusion that the two books serve very different purposes. I would like to have them both on my desk.

Two things I'm looking for...

It's getting late and I'd rather go to bed then venture on another internet search adventure. Here's what I'm looking for:

• A tool or application to convert an Access database to MySQL.
• A tool or application to grab my .Mac Photo Album so I can host it on my own server.

The wait is almost over

The ZX7 shipped today. The wait is almost over. The told me they'd overnight it yesterday, so it's a day late (so far). I hope my relationship with Hypersonic doesn't develop into another love hate relationship.