Tango Project

Tango Project is a project that aims exists to help create a consistent graphical user interface experience for free and Open Source software.
It's very interesting, at least for me it is :)

Linus vs. Tanenbaum

Here you can read a interesting dialog between two of the most well known names of IT technology. Enjoy and don't get to involved ! :)

Lambda Probe

Lambda Probe (formerly known as Tomcat Probe) is a tool for monitoring and management of Apache Tomcat instance in real time. Lambda Probe will help you to visualize real time information about Apache Tomcat instance via easy to use and friendly web interface.

I especially liked the user interface, which is clear, simple and intuitive !

Lipstik LnF

Lipstik LnF is a nice look and feel, kind of sober color combination.. but very nice indeed !

Apache MINA

Apache MINA (Multipurpose Infrastructure for Network Applications) is a network application framework which helps users develop high performance and high scalability network applications easily.
Nice job ! Worth a try !

Dual Processor vs Dual Core

Dual Processor vs Dual Core is interesting stuff for those wondering for a buy .. or just for the fun of argument.

Desktop Backgrounds

This site is a very interesting resource of fine desktop backgrounds .. very nice !

Free! Icons for your website or application at MaxPower

Free! Icons for your website or application at MaxPower
A nice place to go when searching for the right icon for your site or application. Beware of the license though !

iReport Designer roadmap

iReport roadmap is for me a good sign since I'm still waiting for Hibernate integration implemented in iReport.
As a matter of fact, I didn't tried to build a Jasper Reports report without iReport. And I'm ready for next week release !

JasperReports 1.2 released

JasperReports version 1.2 shows the progress in integration with Hibernate and some improvements about the run-time style modifications.
I'll wait for the iReport to catch up with JasperReports for taking a new try.

Using the Desktop API in Java SE 6 (Mustang)

Using the Desktop API in Java SE 6 (Mustang) is a must read for those interested in developing full-featured desktop applications in Java. It's a nice thing to read about, when you are a Swing application provider too ..
Enjoy ! And hope for sooner beta release of Mustang !

The power of Google Talk

Google Talk is ready to take off in gmail land .. there will be a integrated GoogleTalk client integrated in GMail account, powered by AJAX .. isn't this sweet ? or al least powerfull ? :)
Waiting for the moment ..

Gnome Lazuli Screenshots

Gnome Lazuli Mockups is a place to see the new eventual look of Gnome, a look that I like .. even if KDE is still my favourite.
Worths a look though, even for Windows users ..

NetBeans IDE 5 released

NetBeans IDE 5.0 final released with a bunch of great new features, among them, the most interesting for me it is the Matisse GUI Editor ... even if I'm a Eclipse guy and I'm mostly doing my GUI job writing code without any prototyping other than paper ..
There are some other interesting stuff, like profiler and refactoring, code editor improvements.
I'll give it a try .. the Netbeans development team deserves more than that, but t's a start.

Software Craftsmanship from simonsayz

Software Craftsmanship: it's a nice entry to read, especially if you do recognize some of your own patterns described. At least, I did ..

Top Java Interview questions

Simonsays: Top Java Interview questions: This blog entry is a interesting and fun one .. it was nice to see how far the inventiveness of the interviewer can go. A discussion on this subject started from this blog entry is also available on Javalobby (http://www.javalobby.org/java/forums/t63002.html).
The quest continues ! :)

Can you believe this ?

For the second time in last month I went to the mountains and I was corrupted to try skiing..the pictures attached are some prove to my willingness
A static one

and .. a dynamic one
.

Tuning Eclipse Performance

EclipseZone - Tuning Eclipse Performance and Avoiding OutOfMemoryExceptions is a nice article to read .. and if you are a Java developer using Eclipse as your IDE , it may turn that it's really necessary.
Enjoy .. and happy tuning !

truelicense: The TrueLicense Library Collection

truelicense: The TrueLicense Library Collection is a collection of Java packages used to securely create, install and verify application licenses for closed source applications.
Looks like a nice thing to try .. and use in some context.

Gnash - GNU Flash Movie Player

Gnash - GNU Project Flash movie player is based on GameSWF, and supports many SWF v7 features.
Features:
Runs standalone: Gnash can run standalone to play flash movies.
Firefox plugin: Gnash can also run as a plugin from within Firefox.
SWF v7 compliant: Gnash can play many current flash movies.
XML Message server: Gnash also supports an XML based message system as is documented in the Flash Format specification.
High Quality Output: Gnash uses OpenGL for rendering the graphics.

Eventum Issue / Bug Tracking System

Eventum Issue / Bug Tracking System is a user-friendly and flexible issue tracking system that can be used by a support department to track incoming technical support requests, or by a software development team to quickly organize tasks and bugs. Eventum is used by the MySQL AB Technical Support team.
Eventum is available under the GNU GPL.
System Requirements
PHP 4.1.0 or newer versions
o PCRE Extension (usually enabled by default with newer PHP versions)
o Session Extension (usually enabled by default with newer PHP versions)
o MySQL Extension (built-in support with most PHP distributions)
o GD Extension
MySQL Database Server
Worths a look .. kind of sober screenshots, though :)

iReport - new version 0.5.3

iReport has released a new version 0.5.3 which supports JasperReports 1.1.1 (without crosstabs).
I think I'm going to upgrade too enjoy the frames and styles.

ImageMagick: Convert, Edit, and Compose Images

ImageMagick is a free software suite to create, edit, and compose bitmap images. It can read, convert and write images in a large variety of formats. Images can be cropped, colors can be changed, various effects can be applied, images can be rotated and combined, and text, lines, polygons, ellipses and Bézier curves can be added to images and stretched and rotated.

ImageMagick is free software: it is delivered with full source code and can be freely used, copied, modified and distributed. Its license is compatible with the GPL. It runs on all major operating systems.

Most of the functionality of ImageMagick can be used interactively from the command line; more often, however, the features are used from programs written in the programming languages C, Ch, C++, Java, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby, Tcl/Tk, for which ready-made ImageMagick interfaces (PerlMagick, Magick++, PythonMagick, MagickWand for PHP, RMagick, TclMagick, and JMagick) are available. This makes it possible to modify or create images automatically and dynamically.

ImageMagick supports many image formats (over 90) including formats like GIF, JPEG, JPEG-2000, PNG, PDF, PhotoCD, TIFF, and DPX.

Blender 3D

Blender is a full functional integrated 3D creation software suite. It lets users create high quality 3D graphics, movies and replay real-time, interactive 3D content. Over the last decade, Blender has evolved as an in-house tool for a leading European animation studio. Blender is powerful technology used for creating broadcast quality 3D content.

Blender is being released with source codes under the GNU Public License.
Blender therefore is fully free to use and distribute within any educational, professional or commercial environment.

Issue Tracker Application Choice

OpenPoint Issue Tracker is a web-based tool designed to monitor and report progress toward resolving issues, bugs, service requests and enhancements. Issues are organized by project, subproject and category.
Could be a free alternative to Jira but .. only if your needs are covered by OpenPoint. I saw that there is a requirement for JDBC-ODBC MS Access .. so the database used is obvious ..
Maybe I'll give it a try.. it's free but not open-source.

Finally, a period of rest and joy

Today is the last day of active working, the project I was contributing is now on vacantion; of course there are some things to improve, to polish .. but that will have to wait until the first week of the next year.
Until then, I'll enjoy the holidays, resting and thinking about future projects ..
I wish you to enjoy best moments with your dearest, like I'm planning on doing.

EJBCA - The J2EE Certificate Authority - Welcome

EJBCA 3.1.3 is now available: fixing some bugs and releasing some new features like that
Release Notes - EJBCA - Version EJBCA 3.1.3

Bugs

-[ECA-75] - SCEP not working with Hard token CAs (HSMs)
-[ECA-107] - can't view logs using oracle due to column 'comment'
-[ECA-139] - It is not possible to use a HSM to sign a pkcs10 req to an external root CA.
-[ECA-141] - Unstable default idle-timeout for datasource
-[ECA-144] - Scep not working with Cryptlib
-[ECA-145] - Bug in hard token profile pages, Nullpointer when changing profile type or saving new pages
-[ECA-147] - Star (*) not working in subject alt names
-[ECA-148] - Scep not working with Cisco PIX
-[ECA-149] - unstructuredName/address in DN does not work
-[ECA-153] - cli not working on windows when java_home contains space char
-[ECA-154] - install does not work when JAVA_HOME contain space char
-[ECA-155] - OCSP using CA key does not work with HSMs
-[ECA-156] - binary chars in ejbca-mail-service.xml
-[ECA-160] - display of mail.smtp.host during ant deploy is wrong (cosmetic)
-[ECA-165] - Not possible to remove UnstructuredName from entity profile
-[ECA-167] - CN Postfix doesn't work if UID have the same value or DN is reversed
-[ECA-168] - Hard Token SN search doesn't work with primecard 1.3 >
-[ECA-169] - Hard Token Profiles cannot be cloned
-[ECA-170] - Malformed SVG Template craches the Hard Token Profile pages
-[ECA-171] - Typo in language file
-[ECA-176] - Method CertUtil.getEMailAddress(X509Certificate certificate) hangs jboss
-[ECA-177] - SCEP not working with Netscreen/Juniper boxes
-[ECA-180] - Select, unselect javascript features doesn't work anymort

New Features

-[ECA-109] - Support RSASSA-PSS signatures
-[ECA-140] - Add $UID as a variable to the SVG templates
-[ECA-181] - Javascript checks use unicode for internationlized chars
-[ECA-182] - Possible to select a subset of fields in DN and Subject AltNames in the certificate profiles
-[ECA-186] - Possibility to specify the BasicConstraint path length

Improvements

-[ECA-146] - Device schema for sun directory server missing X-ORIGIN
-[ECA-159] - Not possible to view historical data in CertReqHistory
-[ECA-161] - easy configuration of smtp auth
-[ECA-163] - Describe how to install com.mysql.jdbc.Driver in the documentation
-[ECA-178] - Better error messages when HSM provider not found
-[ECA-183] - Possible to configure for different JBoss targets
-[ECA-185] - new version of batik lib

Modify Firefox 1.5 to work with all extensions

Scattered » Modify Firefox 1.5 to work with all extensions is a thing that preocupies my since I tried the first release candidate of Firefox 1.5. I hope that this solution will work for you too.
Good luck !

Xerto

Xerto is a very nice looking application that kept my eyes on their site for about an hour just looking at the different screenshots .. it's a place to visit .. and if you are interested, buy something !
PS: I have no connection with the autors of application or Xerto web site ..

Apache Derby 10.0.2.1 Release

Apache Derby 10.0.2.1 : Apache Derby 10.0.2.1 was released, fixing some of the problems of previous versions.
Enjoy because is a good database ..and is free !

JNLP Java Web Start update in progress

Cafe au Lait Java News and Resources: "Sun's posted the maintenance review change log for the Java Network Launching Protocol and API (a.k.a. Java Web Start) specification. Changes are fairly significant and include an update element to indicate the preferences for how application updates should be handled by the JNLP client, a check attributes to specify when the JNLP client should check for updates, and a policy attributes to tell the client what to do when an update is available before the application is launched."

FlightGear Flight Simulator version 0.9.9 released

FlightGear Flight Simulator: "The FlightGear flight simulator project is an open-source, multi-platform, cooperative flight simulator development project. Source code for the entire project is available and licensed under the GNU General Public License.

The goal of the FlightGear project is to create a sophisticated flight simulator framework for use in research or academic environments, for the development and pursuit of other interesting flight simulation ideas, and as an end-user application. We are developing a sophisticated, open simulation framework that can be expanded and improved upon by anyone interested in contributing."

For the interested ones, is a refference you can't afford to miss ! At least at this price ! :)

Home - GeoTools

GeoTools has released version 2.2M2 which is a nice thing to know and with this .. the "brother" uDig.

Sun Java Studio Tools - FREE Award-winning IDEs

Sun Java Studio Tools - FREE IDEs : Now lets get serious about developing a web application in Java with these free IDE from Sun !!
If you are after a IDE with full JSF support, this is the way to go .. and from now on without paying for the precious IDE assistance !
There are some very interesting flash presentations here Sun Java Studio Creator. Enjoy a full featured IDE ! I'm waiting for the counterpart from Eclipse Platform ! Aren't you ?

Robert Half Technology 2006 Salary Guide

Robert Half Technology 2006 Salary Guide is a interesting information for those who care about their income and the tendinces in the market ! Enjoy the PDF read ..

Steel dolphin Creative - Color Scheme tool

Steel dolphin Creative - Color Scheme tool is a nice tool with intuitive interface for easily creating your color schemes in web apps or desktop apps. There are some other alternatives to this color scheme creator, maybe some of them are better, but this worths a place in your bookmarks.
Enjoy the play of colors !

Sun Studio 11 released for free

Sun Studio 11:Sun Studio 11 software is the latest release of record-setting, optimizing compilers and tools for the C, C++ and Fortran developer. This release delivers the highest optimizations and the best performance in the development of scalable 32-bit and 64-bit applications on Sun's newest hardware platforms including the latest multi-core UltraSPARC, x64 and x86 platforms. And Sun Studio 11 software now removes the price barrier and is available for FREE!
Isn't that good news ?!

Intel to 'revise' Pentium M naming scheme

Intel to 'revise' Pentium M naming scheme : Intel is to introduce a new processor numbering scheme when its 65nm 'Yonah' chip debuts early next year, sources from within Taiwan's motherboard maker community have claimed.
The four letters work as follows: E indicates a TDP of more than 50W, T for 25-49W, L for 15-24W and U for under 14W. With Intel's strategy directed towards building chips with ever higher performance per watt ratings, the Yonah numbering scheme may well extend beyond the Pentium M to other mobile processors and quite possibly desktop and server chips in due course.

Intel's secret logos revealed

Intel's secret logos revealed in a article posted in a French-language site x86-Secret but retracted after a Intel's legal team offensive, were re-posted today by Taiwanese site DigiTimes.
So it seams like a real thing .. but we will see..

Apple Planning Intel-Ready iBook Debut for January

Think Secret - EXCLUSIVE: Apple Planning Intel-Ready iBook Debut for January - intersting article for those like me watching the big bang game of changes in Apple hardware strategy. I'm looking forward to see the future Intel based models.

Romain Guy's Weblog : Synth Builder

Synth Builder is a theme builder for Synth.
A nice piece of software to play with if you think you need to modify the Synth theme provided by Java 5.
Enjoy !

Mac OS X System Startup

Mac OS X System Startup is a nice article for those interested like me in OSX.. my interest in this OS is enhanced by the quality of Apple hardwaree (mmmhhhh powerbook ..is a wonder)

Java people blogs directory

This is a collection of news and views from the Java™ SE Development-Kit Community. Nice and interesting stuff.
There are certain links you could pay attention to.

Java 6 TabComponents in action

Alexander Potochkin's Blog: TabComponents in action is a nice article about JTabbedPane components in next Java version, the long waited (for me) Mustang version.
There are good news about java components flexibility !

iReport - version 0.5.2 released

iReport is releasing first version after the partnership with JasperSoft and it's adding new features and bugfixes:
* Partial support for JasperReports 1.1.0 (crosstabs, styles and frames are not yet supported)
* Improved log window
* Fixed all templates
* Serveral bug fixes and improvements
For long run users like me this is good news !!

Eclipse Platform 3.2 M3 Released

Eclipse Platform 3.2 Milestone 3 was released on second of november, and there are some news you would be glad to hear about.
Enjoy your reading the of newsworthy and ... go for download mirrors !

Mr Schedule

Mr Schedule is a simple tool for making time estimates and keeping track of your todo items as the author describes it.
It has a nice interface based on JGoodies Looks and Animation and a Eclipse icon subset.
I'll try to see if the functionality stands up to the User Interface ! :)

editor PSPad - freeware editor

editor PSPad - freeware HTML editor, PHP editor, XHTML, JavaScript, ASP, Perl, C, HEX editor is a nice product I'll give it a try, seems to me very cappable..I'm mostly interested right now in editing html files with some code completion and the CSS files too ...

Project management and task management software: Basecamp

Project management and task management software: Basecamp is a interesting tool to make your project more efficient. There are multiple bussines plan to sign up for.
Nice user interface too (from their screenshots only).

GTDTiddlyWiki - try this !!

GTDTiddlyWiki - your simple client side wiki is a very interesting way to tell me that web apps can be extremely good looking and fueled by nice visual effects !
I might give this a try ! You might give this a look !:)

jTDS JDBC driver 1.2 released

jTDS JDBC driver 1.2 released with new features and bug fixes.
For Java programmers with SQL Server or Sybase database access applications

Apple Intel PowerBooks 'to debut Q1 2006'

Apple Intel PowerBooks 'to debut Q1 2006' is just a rumour but I'm very curious about their new products .. even if I am a fresh owner of a AMD Turion Windows based notebook.

.:: QuickServer ::. version 1.4.6 released

.:: QuickServer ::. with the new version 1.4.6. adds some new features like
# Support to specify the maximum number of threads to be used for NIO writes.
# Full integration with ClientEventHandler and comes with default implementation.
# Added support to set default DataMode.
# Now shipped with ready to use Unix shell scripts.
# Added support for ClientExtendedEventHandler.
# Added support to configure initial pool size.
# Introducing new ClientAuthenticationHandler (replacing Authenticator).
# Separated QSAdminGUI to a separate jar.
# Improved logging, ClientHandler.
# Added new QSAdmin command 'client-handler-pool-dump'.
# Improved ThreadPool for performance

Enjoy your new java server library !

Hot acquisitions

Last evening was a very good evening for me: I finally managed to get my own notebook, a HP NX6125 Turion based notebook.
As first look, I'm content about the package contents for the spent money. There are some things to be improved ..or some flaws, but I'm trying now to enjoy my new acquisition.
To complete the joy, I did managed to install and configure a wireless router (the D-LINK DI 624+) and the wireless network.

The configuration of the notebook is the following:
- Turion ML-34 1.8Ghz
- 80 GB 5400 Hdd
- 512 MB RAM Infineon DDR333
- SXGA (1400x1050) 15 inch display
- X200 Espress ATI graphics card with 128 MB UMA
- Bluetooth
- Broadcom WIFI a/b/g
- fingerprint sensor for enhanced security
- X90 56K modem
- Windows XP Home (unfortunatelly)

for 1010 EUR (VAT included)
I'll come back with some more and detailed news ..

Opteron Madness forces Dell to market IBM servers

The Register says "Opteron Madness forces Dell to market IBM servers" .. it has come to this !
During a Dell-hosted conference call this week with reporters, Kirk Skaugen, Intel's general manager of servers, started detailing new four-way systems based on Intel's Paxville MP chip. Dell needed this chip bad, as its main competitors have had access to a four-way capable Opteron chip from AMD since April.

D- Link Wireless Router DI 624

In my try to build a home wireless network I was interested in getting a wireless router to connect may older Ethernet PC with a new WI-FI notebook.
And I found one very interesting piece of equipment D- Link Wireless Router DI 624 which has a very good reputation and nice reviews.
I'm eager to try it at home, today is the purchase day .. I'll be back with my pertinent comments.

Product Features:
- Up to 108Mbps*
- Advanced Firewall & Parental Control
- Easy Installation
- 802.11g, 802.11b Compatible
- Increased Security with 802.1X and WPA
It has 4 ethernet ports and 1 WAN port.

*(with other selected D-Link devices)

Add [...] button to any TableCellEditor

The article published at Javalobby is an iteresting one and helps implementing a nice usability feature.

JTable allows editing with TableCellEditor. Sometimes the table might contain some complex objects, whose editing may not fit it the small area allocated to TableCellEditor. In such case it is good idea to add custom-editor button to TableCellEditor. CustomEditor is a button with icon [...]. On clicking this button, a more sofisticated UI in a dialog will popup. This is very common in PropertySheets.

Try it and enjoy !

Mozilla Firefox 1.5 RC1 Available

The first release candidate of Mozilla Firefox 1.5 is now available for download. Mozilla Firefox 1.5 Release Candidate 1 is intended to allow testers to ensure that there are no last-minute problems with the Firefox 1.5 code. There will be at least one more release candidate before the final launch of 1.5.
Firefox 1.5 RC1 can be downloaded from the Firefox project page. Users of Firefox 1.5 Beta 2 will be offered RC1 through the software update system. More details can be found in the Firefox 1.5 RC1 Release Notes.

Mantis Bug Tracker 1.0 rc2

Mantis Bug Tracker is a php/MySQL/web based bugtracking system.
Worth trying it, because it seems to become a more mature product (as the version number shows) and is sustained by more and more companies.

Launch4j version 2.0 released

Launch4j is a Cross-platform Java application wrapper for creating Windows native executables and a software tool to look for when you need a open source solution.
I tried it, one thing I didn't find there is a way to specify the libraries dependencies, the multiple library classpath.
I believe it is posible to specify that in the main jar manifest file, but not in launch4j.

JasperReports version 1.1.0

JasperReports 1.1.0 has a list of new features, some of them very long waited by me such as styles and frames.
On the other hand is good to know that iReport author (and iReport project) has joined JasperReports. I'm eager to try the new version of iReport after this move.
Best thoughts for JasperReports larger team !

Oracle to offer free database | CNET News.com

Oracle to offer free database : is a hot news, isn't it ?
This is a move related to the DB2 free edition released by IBM for PHP development or the Microsoft intention to release a free Express version of SQL Server 2005.
Oracle 10g Express Edition will be available for use with servers with one processor, with 4GB of disk memory and 1GB of memory.

Romain Guy's Drag and Drop Effects

Romain Guy's Weblog - Drag and Drop Effects a very nice work done !
Very interesting ideas and as usually, sharp looks !

Sun freezes hell, gets IBM to sell Solaris on blades from The Register

Sun freezes hell, gets IBM to sell Solaris on blades | The Register it's a new story of what business has become these days !
Enjoy !

Browser launcher in Java

BrowserLauncher is a nice library to use in case you need to launch the default platform browser from java application.

LogDistiller

LogDistiller is a log files analysis tool. It reads log files, parses them into structured log events with attributes, then classify them according rules configured in an XML file. Classification results go into reports, which are published according to the rules configuration : simply stored in a file, sent by mail, or even added in a news feed.
For me it seems to be of use in parsing and analysing log4j generated files.

Swing: Get Started with Flexdock

Swing: Get Started with Flexdock is a nice artcle about a open source project that offers you the posibility to create complex docking application like Eclipse or Netbeans.
Worth a look !
PS: the link is not correctly written in the article, the real one is https://flexdock.dev.java.net/

SwingFX: Using the Draggable API

SwingFX: Using the Draggable API is an interesting article about creating GUIs with drag and drop utilisability feature in a easier way.

Paint App Tutorial : Netbeans module guide

Netbeans platform: Paint App Tutorial is a nice written tutorial about creating applications using the module base of Netbeans.
This article includes branding of application and some bug workarounds :)

Improving Code Layout Can Improve Application Performance

Nice and very interesting article about speeding your application execution with some optimisation techniques.

"Forever For Now" Web Site Discovered

Forever For Now it's a intersting site with some very nice graphics and ideeas. Stop by to give it a look !

Eclipse - Splitting Editors on the Same File

This has been a question about Eclipse capabilities asked by two of my mates who were using JBuider at that time and to my real shame I wasn't able to provide a concise answer to that. We did find some workaround in other facilities of Eclipse but not exactly what thy really asked.
This is for you, Cornel and Rares ! :)

New project in final stage

As all of you that used or use the Apache Derby Database know, there is no well known GUI for interfacing with the database. I'm working on a project that uses Derby database as embeded database and I needed to create, test the structure and the data inside .. so that was the beggining of developing a simple user interface for using Derby as a network database server, creating databases and a simple front end for issueing SQL commands.
In a couple of days the "product" will be ready to be published as open source project.

JToaster

Have you really missed in your java applications the animated box rising from the bottom of the screen with a notification message (like guifications or yahoo messenger) ?
If so, JToaster is the swing solution, and best of all is free and opensource !

Stopped Clock Blog

When it comes to real appreciation, this is one site you can visit often..I really recommend it.
You can find here nice piece of information about graphics and user interface tricks ... real nice ..and pleasing for your eyes.
From here you can discover the icon set of OpenOffice or Gnome 2 or one interesting free editor Inkscape.
There will be followups about me using Inkscape.

Java Splash Screen in Mustang

For a GUI developer in Java a splash screen was one of the "facilities" that demonstrates the quickness of java .. because even the splash screen was appearing with a delay of some seconds. Yet, the time is changing .. and Mustang is about to bring new possibilities.
Some nice article on an interesting feature !

Automated GUI Recorder for Eclipse Platform

The article provides an overview of using a GUI recorder and playback tool that is developed under the TPTP test framework. This tool allows users to record GUI actions in the Eclipse platform and play them back to verify the functionality of their product. It is meant to allow Eclipse developers to automate regression tests that often require many resources to perform repetitive tasks to verify basic functionalities.

For developers of SWT and JFace applications it's a interesting feature .. all Eclipse platform developers should be aware of it. And it's a nice introduction in Test and Performance Tools Platform Project.

Opera 8.5 is free !

I'm very happy to see that Opera released a new version 8.5 of his browser without any ads and payment requirements. It may become my browser of choice because of the speed and features combination. The Windows installer is small enough not to bother you with dowloading it .. :)
I'm not an advertiser but I'd like to hear your comments and reviews ..

Eclipse 3.2 M2 Released

Here are good news for the users of Eclipse IDE .. especially for those who like to do experiments and enjoy the last features of the platform..
Really, enjoy !

TrackIt

TrackIt: "TrackIt is the first open source, web based project tracking tool designed from the ground up to provide maximum flexibility, customization, and most importantly, usefulness to the developer."
Looks nice .. worth a try..

Resources for user experience designers

Just for a moment back in front of the computer .. I found a new interesting user interface references ..
Check this out .. it's really valuable..

2 Weeks off :)

I'll be on vacation 2 weeks from now and my access to internet will be difficult to none ...so "see you" in 2 weeks with some fresh news and brand new ideas !
All the best from a lucky wonderer !

Last before vacantion

The other day I was talking with a colleague about the user interface of the Designer of IBM Document Management System and his attention was attracted by the custom JMenuBar with gradient and a picture ... so today I'm presenting you my implementation. You can specify the color of the gradient and the image that is scaled to the JMenuBar height.
For future improvements I'm waiting for some feedbak !

Web Content Management System

Magnolia CMS version 2.1 has been released, and even better has open sourced it. Most notable new features:
* full I18N support - delivered with 15 major languages
* native search
* import/export of XML based data
* supports several JSR-170 compliant repository implementations, including the Open Source implementations "Jackrabbit" and "Jeiceira" as well as commercial alternatives.
* improved performance through 70% reduction in number of nodes compared to Magnolia 2.0
* simple war-file drop-in deployment on any J2EE container
* run as many Magnolia sites as you like within a single J2EE container for cost-effective hosting
* choice of two leading cross-browser rich-text editors - Kupu and fckEditor
* vastly improved module mechanism to provide for flexible and easy extensibility
Worth a try .. isn't it ?

Change of image :)

You, my old visitors, couldn't miss the change of image ! :)
I hope you'll see that as a improvement .. still I'm waiting for your feedback

Digging into Java Web Start

Digging into Java Web Start: I found this article interesting for the Pack200 support description (for Tomcat at least) .. I'm tempted to use it in production .. some customers will be happy for sure ! :)
For those of you who deploy Java Web Start using Apache Web Server here is some stuff for you JWS on Apache Web Server. Enjoy ... and deploy !

Ergosign - Company website ..

This is the kind of information I would like to have in front of my eyes every day...I noticed the style in site's web design, their projects gave me an impression of their well done work ..
They have the experience that makes my say "If I were interested in developing a product I would count on their expertise". And it's not advertising, I really like very much their work.
It's interesting though that I discovered a lot of companies or consultants covering the User Interface and Usability issues established in Germany .. just one example: Karsten Lentzsch(JGoodies web site).

EclipseZone - SWT: How to add an icon with a popup menu to the system tray

SWT: How to add an icon with a popup menu to the system tray: The code in the article is a simple SWT app with a systray icon, and a popup menu with an item to exit.
Interesting, if you considered SWT for developing the GUI for your next Java application.

HTMLSource: HTML Tutorials

If you are a beginner in HTML editing .. or not, you might be interested in the stuff I found on this site .. nice presentation, cool information. Enjoy !

Capivara - Java filesync

Capivara - Java filesync: "Capivara is a two pane file manager with support for SFTP and FTP servers. Capivara is not an ordinary file manager because it adds synchronization features like comparing timestamps or SHA-1 hash values."
I was attracted by the declared ability to synchronize two folders .. I must recognize that.

MiG Calendar Component

MiG Calendar Component: If you are looking for a Java component to have a calendaring application done or a booking one .. this is the place to start searching ..
At least you can be inspired by the clean look and feel and the flexibility of this component(s).
Nice product .. proved by previous experiences like Wing Flight Planning System.

Quaqua Look And Feel

Quaqua Look And Feel: The Quaqua Look and Feel (Quaqua) is a Java implementation of Apple's Human Interface Guidelines (AHIG) for Mac OS X. It only works on Apple's Macintosh Runtime for Java. Quaqua is focused on fixing minor bugs and glitches in Apple's implementation of the AHIG as well as providing enhancements that make your application fit nicely into Mac OS X.

I wish I had a Mac to use it .. :(

Aqua Data Studio 4.5 released

Aqua Data Studio: is a database query tool and administration tool that allows developers to easily create, edit, and execute SQL scripts, as well as browse and visually modify database structures. Aqua Data Studio provides an integrated database environment with a single consistent interface to all major relational databases. This allows the database administrator or developer to tackle multiple tasks simultaneously from one application.
I like very much this mature product it's one of my favorites because of my heterogeneity of databases used in my projects ..
I hove you'll give it a try .. and apreciate it like I do.

Google Talk IM Launch

Google Talk - Last days I was more interested in using the brand new Google Talk instead of using the brave old GAIM.. the excitement is obvious ... and the simplicity and voice conversation quality convinced me to have simultaneously two active IM clients. Yes, I know that is possible to use GAIM for everything :) .. but since I use for now Windows, Google Talk looks more appealing ..
Give it a try, give me a sign :)

Performance Benchmarking of Embedded Databases

Performance Benchmarking of Embedded Databases: A very interesting comparizon between embedded databases and MySQL .. for the interested ones like me in choosing a embedded database solution .. looks like HSQLDB is a winner !
Seems more interesting since version 1.8 of HSQLDB.

iReport 0.5.1 Released

iReport - OpenSource Java Reporting Tool: "The iReport Team is pleased to announce the new iReport release: 0.5.1.
Newsflash
- Full support for JasperReports 1.0.1
- New charting support
- New TXT exporter
- New RTF exporter
- Support for the new Report Virtualizer
- Serveral bug fixes and improvements "
Enjoy ! I know I will try this new version ..

Subversion

Subversion: Subversion project is to build a version control system that is a compelling replacement for CVS in the open source community. The software is released under an Apache/BSD-style open source license"
It's a piece of software I better get use to, because it has great potetial and strength .. and could replace cvs by it's features and stuff. For Eclipse users there is a plugin similar in functionalities with the cvs-implicit one .. Subclipse

Cobertura

Cobertura: "is a free Java tool that calculates the percentage of code accessed by tests. It can be used to identify which parts of your Java program are lacking test coverage. It is based on jcoverage"
Interested already ? Go there and find out more ...
Ant tasks included :)

Building Reports with Jasper Reports

Building Reports with Jasper Reports: Using Hibernate queries with JasperReports is a optimized approach of "binding" together JasperReports, Hibernate and eventualy iReport.

The Swing Connection: Swing Sightings

The Swing Connection: Swing Sightings: With a short delay I'm glad to have de possibility to guide you to a colection of well designed and implemented user interfaces in Swing ..different applications, different approaches ..the same result: You appreciate the designed application, it's look and functionality.