our little home z505/winxp box took a dirt nap the other day. it has been wigging lately, deciding to hibernate often, etc.. really pathetic as that little system helps keep our lives in order, namely it hosts quicken. i've had that z505 since '99. great little notebook.

we've been talking about moving to mac for the last half year or so and after getting over my powerbook envy added with an ample dose of imac research we committed. after getting the system up and running in a matter of minutes and playing with the various iLife apps i am convinced this is the bar for usability standards, both h/w and s/w. amazingly elegant.

the overall cost wasn't terrible taking into consideration rebates, a free printer and corporate discounts. can't wait to salvage the files from the z505 and install a lean linux on it as it is a great portable.

so, in short order, our house should be running only 2 unices ... all networked. all secure.

rock on!

MyJXTA :: use it - learn it - do it

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: U2/How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb/Mirable Drug

just a little note of thanks to jimgris for doing an absolute stellar job of sifting through the many flavors of OpenSolaris thoughts that float about in ether'land. jim's consistent focus on reality coupled with active myth and rumor debunking is what it is all about.

u-da-man mr. grisanzio!

MyJXTA :: use it - learn it - do it

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Dirty Vegas/One/Save Me Now

just got my first taste of solaris 10 running on a triad of h/w flavors. !wow!

all the processes, scripts, code ported over with ease, just some subtle bash issues to contend with. the response time rocks!

these systems will tremendously streamline our build out given they pretty much snap together like legos ... hey, i should hit toy's r us and get my son some legos as i am so almost out of here till next year rolls around.

rock on!

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: A Perfect Circle/Emotive/Imagine

the new perfect circle "emotive" cd completely rocks! it is stock full of remarkable remakes. i'm partial to devo's "freedom of choice" and depeche mode's "people are people". the over arching theme is "... songs bout war, peace, love and greed ..." "when the levee breaks" is very easy to listen to.

two of the new songs make the purchase worth it, for me ... ymmv. the lyrics to "passive" floor me and the grind of "counting bodies like sheep to the rythm of the war drums" is way beyond addictive. from the liners, it looks like reznor was involved w/ the production. no surprise. btw, the nin site is extreme retro. very swag.

all around masterful!

i got my wife a couple of new cds i'm interested in spinning soon but that will have to wait till after christmas. mutually beneficial gifts rock!

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: A Perfect Circle/Emotive/Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rythm Of The War Drums

upgraded to netbeans 4.0 today. beyond easy. i even installed the netbeans mobility development kit. the migration from netbeans 4.0b was flawless. the ant intergration is spot on and a huge enabler!

great product!

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: A Perfect Circle/Emotive/Passive

man, this kicks a$$. the JXTA community has generated some amazing statistics comparing current and past releases with varying JVM tunings.

definitive. objective. repeatible. impressive.

in a word: goodness.

good and getting better. incrementally. every quarter ... and now the numbers prove it.

MyJXTA :: use it - learn it - do it

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant/No Quarter/That's The Way

trey's last day of karate was today. he has beek looking forward to the end of the class, that is up until he got a little confidence booster reward. they test the kids and given them little "belt color bands(tape)" in place of a full fledge belt. trey was extremely proud stating he can't wait for the next class. he even stayed in his outfit until i came home to see his new belt. what a turn around from the first day of class. this has been a great confidence booster. they are cutting the class time back to half an hour for the pre-school kids next go around and we really like the student teacher ratio which is about 8 to 1.

life is good!

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Radio Head/My Iron Lung/The Trickster

got our first myjxta localization contribution today :)

mad props to dolphin for providing a spanish myjxta resource file and jocconner for setting the course.

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Nine Inch Nails/The Fragile/Into The Void

joconner@jxta.org has laid down the recipe for localizing myjxta. much appreciated!

one future feature down and on to the next. onwards and upwards!

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Love And Rockets/Seventh Dream Of Teenage Heaven/Inside The Outside

there are a few shows on tv i *really* like with prime examples being survivor and the amazing race. i also like watching the various Texas Hold'em shows that are cropping up everywhere. reminds me of the college days when i lifeguarded as a summer gig (good times) and participated in many a late night poker, beers and cigars smack down.

anyways, that was then and this is now. so, i watch the shows from time to time and trey, my 4yr son, has latched onto them as well to the point that he no longer wants to play uno but instead wants to play "river card." thinking why not we started playing, as a family, about a month back and it has turned out to be a regular event, sans beers, cigars and chips mind you. i am amazed with how quickly trey learns winning hands, shouting out "i'm so happy" when he happens a good draw, not the best "poker face" but very cute non e the less. further, the kid get's more aces then his fair share.

having participated in family night texas hold'em for over a month now i believe trey is learning a ton in the areas of pattern matching (flushes), sequencing (straights), groupings (full house) and the like. fun and educational ... can't beat that! he now shouts out phrases like "be there for me" and "i got diddly" throwing down his bad hands.

life is good!

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Orbital/Blue Album/Transient

just posted a brief myjxta.next brain dump. basically ideas that folks with varying ideas, interests and/or skillsets can feel welcome to contribute as applicable. i'm glad i took the time to snarf the screenshots as that hook alone has prompted a half dozen new folks to give myjxta a try.

lessons learned: eye candy ... [hmmmm, can't think of a catchy phrase] ... do it!

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Love And Rockets/Seventh Dream Of Teenage Heaven/Haunted When The Minutes Drag

i'll gen up a more formal myjxta blog in a bit ... till then feel free to snack on some freshly baked screenshots. there is 41 pics in all so go ahead and share them amongst your friends and family. there's plenty to go around. it is the christmas season after all :)

go big or go home!

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Van Halen/Live Right Here Right Now/You Really Got Me - Cabo Wabo

our christmas tree decked out nicely this year. we bought the tree from a local shop near our house on winchester and 85. we buy our halloween goods there as well. here is the tree as seen during the daylight hours:

and here it is all lit up:

the tree is in one of the more complete "weekend warrior" project rooms where we redid pretty much everything including wiring, lights, window trim, footer, wall and ceiling drywall and insulation, paint, curtains and rods. we like the flat paint and plan on doing more of that style throughout the house. rewarding work.

life is good!

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: U2/October/Scarlet

The local PenLUG and SVLUG folks are getting together for a holiday dinner next week. These folks have fed me pizza, engaged in interesting dialog and have helped me with KDE snafoos as via thier monthly install-fests, etc. As such I gladly donated to the cause, on behalf of MyJXTA, and look forward to the gathering.

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Felix Da Housecat/Devin Dazzle & The Neon Fever/Nitelife Funworld

JXTA BugDay is upon us. As usual, we will be using MyJXTA to talk about all things JXTA ... using JXTA in the process.

Alot of work has gone into MyJXTA over the last couple of weeks but I didn't quite get 1to1 chat completed. Hopefully the dust will settle a bit where I can close that loop as well. That aside, this go around we will be running in an "application subgroup" (versus NetPeerGroup) which brings scale to P2P deployments. Truly an edge environment where the group RendezVous responsibilities will change over time, etc.

In any event, stop by and try JXTA BugDay on for size.

Get Connected Already!

Java == platform independence
XML == application independence
JXTA == network independence

Secure End-to-End Computing

in my ears: Felix Da Housecat/Devin Dazzle & The Neon Fever/Everyone Is Someone In LA