KludgeHack

Lost in Project Euler
16 February 2008 in Fun & Personal Experience & Programming | Comments (1)

As you may already noticed I haven’t posted in some time. The reason I’ve been neglecting the blog, is mainly because of school exams and the recently found Project Euler.

Since I discovered this site, I was instantly addicted.

Unlike programming challenges like TopCoder or UVa Online Judge, Project Euler don’t require you to submit any sort of code, with any kind of limitation in presentation or speed. The only data you need to submit is the right number for each problem. You can make your application in any language with any speed, as long as you can find the right number.

I really recommend you to try it. I will definitely make you a better programmer and if you’re just as geek like me, It will give you some fun.

I’m already at Top 1000, and I don’t seem to be stopping soon.

Meanwhile, I will try to make more regular posting.

School begins, habits must change
29 September 2007 in Personal Experience | Comments (9)

With the start of the new school year, new classes must be taken, and needless to say begin new adventures.

This semester I’m having a major turnover. My programming class is going to be restricted only to Java code (OOP). As if that wasn’t enough changes, I’m also changing my current OS to linux (Ubuntu to be more specific) to really ease the pain of using Eclipse.

Its not my first time using Linux, but its certainly changed since last time. Ubuntu choice was really made in a instance of a second, being one of the most popular distros. I must say, they are really becoming more and more similar to Windows (witch is a good thing).

After installing in my laptop and desktop computer I was surprised to discover that most (80/90%) of the hardware was supported. Two years ago, this number was just plain fiction.

Another feature that astonishes me in Ubuntu (not exclusive) is the visual integrated apt-get/dpkg. The simple process to get any software you need, its just incredible. This is the kind of stuff, no other (proprietary) OS will ever get this good.

But every software have its flaws. In my fist impression, the cons are:

• Full builtin NTFS support (I’m already installing ntfs-config for this);
• The still missing proprietary software you really miss from Windows (VS.NET, Office, iTunes, Flash, etc.);
• Better games;
• Even better driver support. e.g: It supports the builtin laptop volume changer, without supporting the sound board (no sound);

For now, the pros overcome the cons.

But as a programmer, none of this matters most than a good development environment.

In this subject, I was already sure the python, gcc and java support was going to be enough for the time being. What I didn’t expected was how easy I got Mono full installed and ready for developing. Joining this framework with the new MonoDevelop IDE, can most probably make the best developer environment in linux (at least for managed code).

I must say, for a package based on a Microsoft product, they sure do a lot better on deploying that MS. I still hope MS finds a more suitable way to get their framework deployed.

So much more could be said about my new environment. As so, in the following times, I will be focusing more on Linux/Java developing. I will also keep my WPF content, because I find this technology of immense value that no other platform was capable of competing (even java with its swing + substance + nimbus can match this).

By the way: For really cool java user interfaces this (curious-creature) blog its just amazing.

My new iPod brought a new world attached
11 September 2007 in Links & Personal Experience | Comments (4)

I’ve never been the kind of guy that buys anything just because of its popularity. Being in a need for a new music player, I’ve decided to try an Apple player. I really don’t have a need for display, as so, I bought a new iPod Shuffle orange.

After some use, I have so much good to say about it, as bad. Resuming: I like a lot of the design, and the usability of the device. The bad part, iTunes lock-in (disgusting) and some of its particularities (the only way to see the battery status, its through a green light that corresponds to 30%-100%?).

All in all, I can live with it.

The thing that most surprise me, was Podcasting. I’ve been avoiding this for a long time, mainly because the only usable way, was to listen in the computer (which sometimes doesn’t worth the time).

With the iPod + iTunes solution, podcasting subscription is a very simple process. I can now enjoy great podcasts like .Net Rocks! and Livro dos Porquês (Portuguese) wherever I am.

Needless to say, this isn’t something only for iPod owners. But if you own a iPod, you will get the process so much easier.

Whatever Happened to Civility on The Internet?
30 July 2007 in Personal Experience | Comments (0)

Jeff Atwood from Coding Horror, one of my favorite blogs, posted a great article about the civility on the Internet.

It starts by pointing a very common commentary in another blog, just to point out the growing nerd rage we find (particularly) online. Personally I think such attacks are a completely waste of time and a result of the extensive use of anonymity we can only find online.

The article is very good and certainly the discussion generated on comments can be even better.

It reminds me of an older post called “Don’t Ask Us Questions. We’ll Just Ignore you.” that pointed out how difficult it is to get help from people who actually know about software or hardware, but most of the times they just ignore us.

I think this xkcd.com webcomic just makes shows my point:

Sick of Being Nagged to restart every 5 Minutes after an Update?
25 July 2007 in Microsoft & Personal Experience | Comments (2)

So many time after the first time Microsoft used this technique to make users restart the computer after updating Windows, it really bothers me that they haven’t changed this.

In Windows XP you didn’t really had a change but to postpone the dialog 10 minutes. Windows Vista “innovated” somehow by allowing the user to select from a time interval of 10 minutes to 4 hours to be warned again.

Unfortunately, even in Windows Vista, after any critical update, the system needs to be restarted. That necessity is easily understandable, as there’s important files to be replaced/updated. But certainly, showing a window every 10 minutes asking to restart is very annoying.

I did a quick search online, and found this easy solution to get rid of the dialog:

1. Open the windows Run dialog
2. Type in “gpedit.msc” and press OK (this opens the “Group Policy” management console)
3. Open “Local Computer Policy”
4. Open “Computer Configuration”
5. Open “Administrative Templates”
6. Open “Windows Components”
7. Open “Windows Update”
8. Double click on “Re-prompt for restart with scheduled installations”
9. Select “Disabled”
10. Click “OK”
11. Close the Group Policy management console.

After this, you shouldn’t be bother again.

Either way, I don’t think there’s a reason to sue microsoft over this.