I recently got a cheap new laptop. So it was time to install some new tools including ColdFusion 8 Developer Edition and MS SQL Server Express. I've done this before with previous versions and didn't have any issues. This time I did.
After spending some time trying to figure out what it was, I did a quick Google search. I wish that I would've done that from the start. Matt Woodward's excellent entry on configuring MS SQL Server Express for ColdFusion clued me in on the issue, configuring MS SQL Server Express' settings. Thanks for the help, Matt!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Satellite Radio
Having rented a car while driving out West the last few days I had plenty of time to listen to satellite radio. It hasn't changed my outlook on it; it has little to offer other than bandwidth. I enjoyed being able to listen to Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me and some English Premier League games. And having both team's radio broadcasts to choose from for the football games was nice. Nevertheless, overall I didn't find it compelling. I would have been just as happy listening to my MP3 player for music and broadcasts. And other than the live NFL games, it would've been the same experience. The satellite radio companies offer a lot of bandwidth. But other than that, they don't have much to offer that the consumer doesn't already have.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Quick ColdFusion Project
I've got some time on my hands. I'm going to start a quick ColdFusion project that will later grow into something larger. It should be a good exercise in building something small that later grows and grows beyond it's planned scope. That's something very common in business. More so for me to get some of my CFC, quasi-OO ColdFusion code out there and exposed for others to critique.
ColdFusion In The Mountains
For those of you who find yourself saying "I'd love to live in the Mountains but I just can't find programming jobs there", now is your chance to step forward and snag one. It's for the Keystone Symposia which is in Silverthorne, Colorado. They're looking for a ColdFusion programmer. For those of you who don't know, there are 4 major ski resorts in the area (A-Basin, Copper Mtn, Breckenridge and Keystone). If you really want to give a go of living in the mountains, now's your chance.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Flex vs Ajax vs....
http://blog.schematic.com.au/?p=46
Jeffrey Hammond of Forrester Research completely misses the mark with an article highlighting the pro’s and con’s of the Flex vs AJAX frameworks.
Firstly, let me say that i’m a big fan of Forrester. For the most part they provide unbiased, educated and valuable research on a wide range of subjects (including rich internet application technologies). Unfortunately, in this case, it appears as though Hammond misses the mark on a number of points in his article and, and in turn, shows his ignorance of the facts.
Lets have a look at where Hammond gets it wrong…Tuesday, July 10, 2007
ColdFusion - Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday ColdFusion,
Happy Birthday to you!
12 years old today!
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday ColdFusion,
Happy Birthday to you!
12 years old today!
Monday, July 09, 2007
Yahoo!
Am I the only person wondering if 1/2 the reason people don't use Yahoo! is that it is beyond a pain in the rear to log in if you forget your password? Or am I the only one who actually coughs up factual information for a free account?
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Marketing + Technology
It's frustrating to see that in 2007 people just don't quite get it when it comes to technology and how to make it user friendly. J.D Power sent out a postcard to people living in apartments. It included a URL and a pin number to enter. The two things that are frustrating about it are the URL and the PIN.
This really shouldn't be that complex of a thing. The URL should be something easy to type. But instead of giving users something simple for a url, such as "ApartmentSurveyOnline.com", they tell people to type "http://www.apartmentsurveyonline.com/main.php". There is no need for this. The first example will work. It's a lot less to type and leaves a lot less room for error.
The same with the PIN that was sent. Why force users to type "0037878G". Why doesn't "37878g" work? There is nothing to tell the user that it's case sensitive let alone the need for the leading zeroes. The reason I figured it out is that I saw it was php file and assumed it would be case sensitive. How many users tried it once and when it didn't work moved on to something else?
It may seem trite. However when you're trying to encourage people to donate their time to your for-profit venture, making it as easy as possible is important.
This really shouldn't be that complex of a thing. The URL should be something easy to type. But instead of giving users something simple for a url, such as "ApartmentSurveyOnline.com", they tell people to type "http://www.apartmentsurveyonline.com/main.php". There is no need for this. The first example will work. It's a lot less to type and leaves a lot less room for error.
The same with the PIN that was sent. Why force users to type "0037878G". Why doesn't "37878g" work? There is nothing to tell the user that it's case sensitive let alone the need for the leading zeroes. The reason I figured it out is that I saw it was php file and assumed it would be case sensitive. How many users tried it once and when it didn't work moved on to something else?
It may seem trite. However when you're trying to encourage people to donate their time to your for-profit venture, making it as easy as possible is important.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Lompoc's WiFi Brings Red Ink
The frustrating thing is that we've seen communities do this before when it comes to building their own bandwidth. In this case it's just a new form of it.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,274728,00.html
A $3 million plan to blanket Lompoc, Calif., with a wireless Internet system promised a quantum leap for economic development: The remote community hit hard by cutbacks at nearby Vandenberg Air Force Base would join the 21st century with cheap and plentiful high-speed access.
Instead, nearly a year after its launch, Lompoc Net is limping along. The central California city of 42,000, surrounded by rolling hills, wineries and flower fields more than 17 miles from the nearest major highway, has only a few hundred subscribers.
That's far fewer than the 4,000 needed to start repaying loans from the city's utility coffers, potentially leaving smaller reserves to guard against electric rate increases.
Lompoc isn't alone. Across the United States, many cities are finding their Wi-Fi projects costing more and drawing less interest than expected, leading to worries that a number will fail, resulting in millions of dollars in wasted tax dollars or grants when there had been roads to build and crime to fight.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,274728,00.html
A $3 million plan to blanket Lompoc, Calif., with a wireless Internet system promised a quantum leap for economic development: The remote community hit hard by cutbacks at nearby Vandenberg Air Force Base would join the 21st century with cheap and plentiful high-speed access.
Instead, nearly a year after its launch, Lompoc Net is limping along. The central California city of 42,000, surrounded by rolling hills, wineries and flower fields more than 17 miles from the nearest major highway, has only a few hundred subscribers.
That's far fewer than the 4,000 needed to start repaying loans from the city's utility coffers, potentially leaving smaller reserves to guard against electric rate increases.
Lompoc isn't alone. Across the United States, many cities are finding their Wi-Fi projects costing more and drawing less interest than expected, leading to worries that a number will fail, resulting in millions of dollars in wasted tax dollars or grants when there had been roads to build and crime to fight.
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