Archive for the 'Cool Stuff' category
Simply Amazing Site
August 16, 2008 5:14 pmQoTD - 7/29/08
July 29, 2008 10:23 amGrrrgregg8tr - An AIR “microbrowser” for HelloTxt
June 16, 2008 5:00 pmOne of my internet friends said that she’d like a simple desktop app which would allow her to post to multiple sites like Twitter, Plurk, etc. A little later she plurked about how HelloTxt basically does what she wants except that it doesn’t have a desktop app.
Adobe AIR to the rescue.
HelloTxt has a mobile client interface written in HTML so making a simple cross-platform desktop app was as simple as firing up Flex Builder, adding panel and HTML components, and specifying HelloTxt’s mobile client interface’s URL as the HTML component’s “location.” I then twiddled around with a little bit of styling and config. stuff but that wasn’t necessary to make it work.
<mx:windowedapplication title="Grrrgregg8r" height="550" width="300"
layout="absolute" xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml">
<mx:panel headerheight="10" bottom="0" right="0" top="0" left="0"
layout="absolute">
<mx:html bottom="0" top="0" left="0" right="0"
location="http://m.hellotxt.com/" />
</mx:panel>
</mx:windowedapplication>
A cross-platform desktop application in five lines of MXML. Pretty dang nifty if you ask me. 
A compiled/working version of Grrrgregg8r is available by right-clicking the link below and doing that “save as” thang.
Susser Rox! (Fanboy Silliness)
June 1, 2008 10:30 amI went to Josh Susser’s session The Great Test Framework Dance-Off yesterday afternoon. It was a great survey of Rails Test Frameworks and I appreciate his take, which I summarize as “if it helps you write tests, then use it.” Exactly!
During his presentation, someone suggested turning down the lights so that it’d be easier to see his slides. Susser joked: “Hey, if we do that they you won’t be able to see me!”I shouted “we don’t need to see you, ’cause I have a tattoo of you on my arm.*”
Susser retorted “it’s nice to have fans!” and resumed his outstanding presentation.
I was sitting next to my new friend Harlan and asked him if he’d draw a smiley face on my arm (with eyebrows and a subtle eyebrow piercing) and put “Susser Rox!” underneath it. When the presentation was over, I went up to Susser and said “dude, I’m serious… check out my tattoo!” and rolled up my sleeve.
Harlan took this picture, which I think clearly shows how Susser responded:
I really love being a tiny guppy in the huge Rails Community lake.
* I think I did my standard “stammering” thing, so I may not have actually said precisely this, but it’s definitely what I meant.
