Borrowed Code

chipping away at stylesheet lava with Dust-Me Selectors

Michael Hartford — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 21:04:02 +0000

I've been working on a web project that has gone through multiple iterations, and many hands, before landing on my desk. Over that time (and while it's been in my care, as well as before), the stylesheets have acquired quite a few geological layers. The primary CSS file has had over 2,000 lines, with more than 600 selectors spread over almost a dozen stylesheets. Since the site has gone through multiple revisions and adjustments--at least five major versions in the month or so I've been working on it--a lot of these selectors aren't being used anymore.

Netbook OS Roundup: Fedora LXDE

Michael Hartford — Tue, 11 May 2010 13:04:54 +0000

Fedora is one of the scions of the Linux world; the first Red Hat release came out in 1994, so there's a lot of expertise behind the current Fedora builds. There are multiple "spins" of Fedora available, one of which--LXDE--is specifically targeted to low-power, lightweight systems like the Dell Mini netbook.

What I’ve been working on: The Architecture

Michael Hartford — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 23:09:27 +0000

,I've found that putting together a very rough architectural sketch is the best way to start when you're building an application from scratch. While it's a lot more fun to write code and see it executed, you save yourself a lot of grief, and create a more robust and flexible system, if you think things through up front and draw some boxes and arrows.

What I’ve been working on: the anatomy of an application

Michael Hartford — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 23:07:10 +0000

Since September, I've been developing a Java application for a client in St. Paul. As noted in an earlier post, this has been a very successful project; I'm quite proud of the application, and with the quality of the work that we've done as a team. It's unusual for a corporate IT project to be on time, under budget, and to deliver real functionality, so being involved in a project that hits all three is quite a treat.

Netbook OS Roundup: Linux Mint

Michael Hartford — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 01:37:23 +0000

Linux Mint is another Linux distribution based on the Ubuntu and Debian projects. Unlike Jolicloud, Moblin, and the Ubuntu Netbook Remix distributions, it's not specifically targeted at the netbook niche; rather, it's an all-purpose, full-featured consumer operating system, comparable in many ways to the last fifteen years of Windows distributions.

Netbook OS Roundup: Moblin 2.1

Michael Hartford — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:19:07 +0000

Moblin is a Linux distribution (versions are available based on both Ubuntu and Fedora kernels) targeted at mobile devices. It boasts a stripped-down UI, and a stable core of basic hardware support; its profile is very similar to Jolicloud, with a smilar (though understated) focus on social media integration.

every day, in every way, getting better and better

Michael Hartford — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:50:50 +0000

I've worked on a variety of projects in my IT career, from small Lotus Notes applications where I've been the business analyst, developer, tester, system administrator, and support engineer, to multi-year enterprise initiatives with far-flung teams and huge project management systems where my role has been very narrowly defined. I'll admit to a preference for the former--I like to write code, and waiting weeks or months for the first solid requirements to trickle in is painfully dull. But all of the projects, like most IT projects, have been plagued by the usual disconnects, missed opportunities, and frustrations with delivering what the users really want on time and on budget.

Netbook OS Roundup: Jolicloud

Michael Hartford — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 20:00:48 +0000

Last weekend, I installed Jolicloud, a Linux distribution (built on Ubuntu) that extols the virtues of a minimalist, cloud-based operating system. In a week of using it, I've found it to be very similar to Ubuntu in usability and performance, and not a bad fit for how I use the netbook.

Netbook OS Roundup: a series

Michael Hartford — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 19:09:55 +0000

The operating system world is a crowded space--Windows, Mac, various flavors of Linux, FreeBSD, Haiku, Android, Chrome, and any number of odd and specialized projects. For the most part, though, actual usage on PCs is limited to Windows, with a smaller share of Macs and tiny numbers for Linux. This isn't terribly surprising, given the prevalence of Microsoft operating systems in OEM builds and the difficulties involved in switching operating systems, especially on a computer that's responsible for running your household. When I was faced with the problem of upgrading my 8-year-old computer, I opted to stick with the Windows rut that I've been in for almost 20 years, since purchasing an IBM PS/2 with Windows 3.0: the thought of switching from Quicken, Photoshop, and Vegas, even if the open source alternatives are just as good, was simply too daunting.

A box in the clouds

Michael Hartford — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:01:58 +0000

One of the things that has kept me from making big OS changes on my netbook in the past is that getting Firefox reconfigured is such a hassle. While I've been using the Xmarks plugin for bookmark and password synchronization between home, work, and my netbook since the plugin was called Foxmarks, getting all of the other plugins installed and configured after wiping out the netbook has been a tedious chore. About 90% of what I use the netbook for is browser-based, so this is a relatively big deal for a little computer.