New Nokia Map Loader 1.2

While we're at the Nokia Maps, we might as well mention the new Nokia Map Loader 1.2.

The new version requires Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0! What a shame.. Why don't Nokia just use Java which just about everyone seems to have?

Well, the installer fetches .NET 3.0 for you, if you don't already have it installed.It takes some time to get, and a little more than a short while to install.. It actually takes quite some time, which is very annoying. But hey, it's only the first time (but what if I didn't want .NET 3.0 on my machine?).

After .NET 3.0 has finished installing, the rest of the installation takes only a moment.

Besides the splash screen, I can't tell the difference from Map Loader 1.1. It's probably just bugfixes, or perhaps the preparation for using new features in .NET 3.0. Anyone?

I still miss the feature that lets you see which maps you've already installed on the memory card. I hope this feature will show up in the next version.

Also check out this post for updates on the Maps application:
http://luposlip.blogspot.com/2007/08/nokia-maps-10-finally-for-n95.html

technorati tags:nokia, map loader 1.2, update, oppinion, missing feature, .net 3.0

Nokia Maps 1.0 finally for N95!

The official Maps 1.0 for N95 is now available here:
http://europe.nokia.com/A4509291

Remember to make sure you have the newest firmware (12.0.013) before upgrading your Maps application.

I've now installed it on my N95. It looks the same as the beta version I installed a couple of weeks ago, but it should be more stable. The version is now called 1.02(1).

It is advised to install Maps in the phone memory. The actual installation is done onto the ROM alongside the Symbian OS. Which is why it doesn't show up in the application manager (which manages applications stored in memory or flash RAM).

If you bought navigation and/or city guides, you might have to re-activate your license. You do this by "buying it" again for the same areas/cities. But you don't pay for it again. The licenses are stored per IMEI-number, so if you haven't changed your phone, the license stays.

Everything seems the same as in the beta version. Probably only bugs have been fixed since the beta version - which is nice.

I saw a glitch in the beta version - if the Maps 1.0 beta wanted you to go in one direction while navigating, and you decided to go another way, sometimes it couldn't calculate a new route. I've seen this a couple of times, and hope this have been fixed in this final version.

UPDATE: If you actually got a new phone after you bought the licenses, there is help to get. Read the info in this post: http://myn95.com/?p=77

Also see this post for updates on the Map Loader:
http://luposlip.blogspot.com/2007/08/new-nokia-map-loader-12.html

Earlier posts on Nokia Maps:
http://luposlip.blogspot.com/2007/07/new-nokia-maps-on-n95.html
http://luposlip.blogspot.com/2007/08/nokia-maps-10-update.html

technorati tags:nokia, maps, 1.0, final, release, oppinion, installation, license

JavaFX City Weather Sample

I finally got the time to take a quick look at the newest Netbeans JavaFX sample application. The sample application contains a Java Service hosting weather data, and a (not very beautiful) JavaFX GUI showing the weather data. The weather data is animated in small "weather widgets", when you drag the slider beneath the date bar.

You'll need Netbeans 6.0 M10. Goto Tools -> Plugins (Netbeans Plugins Manager). Find the JavaFX Weather Sample application, and click "Install":

After completed installation of the sample app, goto File -> New Project -> Samples -> JavaFX, and select the Weather Sample app:

Finish the wizard, and run the application. When you drag the mentioned slider, the widgets are animated:

The sample is nicely structured, containing a JavaFX source file for each widget, and 3 Java classes emulating the service.

technorati tags:javafx, sample, weather, widget, netbeans, java

Follow-up: ActiveRecord-JDBC 0.5

I've now had the time to test the new ActiveRecord-JDBC 0.5. It now works perfectly with MS SQL Server.

At least with SQL Server 2000 on Windows Server 2003, using Microsoft's own driver contained in sqljdbc.jar (I use version 1.1, compatible with SQL Server 2005).

Excellent work! :-)

technorati tags:jruby, RoR, jruby on rails, rails, activerecord, jdbc, activerecord-jdbc 0.5, microsoft sql server

ActiveRecord-JDBC 0.5 released

As if it wasn't enough already with the announcement of JRuby 1.0.1, the guys behind ActiveRecord-JDBC have released version 0.5.

I haven't had the opportunity to try it out myself yet, but will do that in a short while - but the support for HSQL, MS SQLServer, PostgreSQL, Oracle and Derby has been updated. I hope this means that I will now be able to use JRuby with MS SQL Server (not that I'm particularly fond of that DBMS, but many danish Enterprises use it..).

UPDATED: Thomas Enebo's announcement has more detailed information on how to use the new version:
http://www.bloglines.com/blog/ThomasEEnebo?id=36

technorati tags:jruby, activerecord-jdbc, activerecord, rails, RoR, JRuby on Rails, MS SQLServer, SQL Server

JRuby 1.0.1 released

I missed the announcement Friday last week, that JRuby 1.0.1 has been released:
http://docs.codehaus.org/display/JRUBY/2007/08/24/JRuby+1.0.1+Released

There should be enough fixes/minor enhancement for you to want it.

Among the very small enhancements is "my own" issue no. 1181 regarding batch files for the windows environment. As small and insignificant it may seem, I must say I'm pretty proud to have helped JRuby a tiny step ahead. And that I hope to be able to help more from the Windows platform POV in the future (and hopefully with code).

technorati tags:jruby, 1.0.1, released, announcement, ruby

Solution: N95 rebooting

Remember how I complained about my N95 that kept on rebooting? And that I ended up having it returned to the reseller for service? And that I stated that it worked perfectly when I got it back?

Well, it didn't. It worked perfectly for the first day or so, and then it got just as bad as it was before it got its service.

Now I've found out what the issue is all about:
It seems that after I updated the firmware to version 12.0.013, the feature of synthetically speaking the name of who is calling you, makes the phone reboot (almost) every time somebody actually calls you. Not good.

But after I turned off that feature, it works perfectly again. Nice!

The synthetic voice-thing is turned off here:
Tools -> Settings -> General -> Personalisation -> Tones -> Say caller's name (-> Off).

That's it! :-)

technorati tags:nokia, n95, reboot, issue, problem, 12.0.013, solution, fix

The Gimp (for Windows)

Apparently The Gimp (worlds greatest open source image editor in many ways on par with Photoshop) was released last week in its RC1 version.

This friday the RC1 got available for Windows as well.

Go get it now, here:
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=121075&package_id=240554&release_id=532945

The Gimp 2.4 has many new features and improvements. Including faster startup time, and a polished look.
One of the funkier new features is the foreground extraction wizard..!

The full list of new features can be found here:
http://www.gimpusers.com/tutorials/gimp-2-4-new-features.html

Netbeans 6 beating emacs?

There has been a lot of fuzz about Netbeans 6 Ruby support. And there still is.

A lot of hardcore Ruby folks have historically been using (X)Emacs, among other reasons because of it's way of being easy to expand and personalize.

But hardcore Ruby guys, like i.e. Charles Nutter - one of the guys from the core JRuby core team which are responsible for making Ruby Rock on the Java platform - swears to Netbeans 6 ruby support.

Read his oppinion about Netbeans 6 and it's support for Ruby here:
http://headius.blogspot.com/2007/08/netbeans-ruby-support-is-bomb.html

In the comments to the post, a guy actually states, that he is one of those who has trashed XEmacs for ruby in favor of Netbeans! :-)

Charles' post includes links to Netbeans' Ruby features pages, and mentions the existence of a Ruby-only version of Netbeans 6.

The Ruby-only version can be found here:
http://deadlock.netbeans.org/hudson/job/ruby/

The download is merely 30 MB!

technorati tags:jruby, ruby, netbeans 6, charles nutter, emacs, ruby only ide, xemacs

Getting started with JavaFX animation

If you want to get started with animations in JavaFX, Chris Oliver just posted a short getting-started tutorial on his blog.

It shows how JavaFX makes it easy to make smooth running non-blocking (Swing based) animations, with no explicit use of threads.

Read the full post here:
http://blogs.sun.com/chrisoliver/entry/programming_animations_in_fx

Especially the Simple Path Animation is quite educational for beginners (link opens up JavaFXPad).

technorati tags:javafx, animation, guide, tutorial, howto, getting started, chris oliver, java, swing

Nokia Maps 1.0 Update

Today I got my N95 back from service. And now it works perfectly again.. As a matter of fact, they even replaced the cover (Sand colored), which had got a slightly reddish tint at the edges, as well as the battery (don't know why - perhaps it's an updated version which lasts longer?).

And a couple of minutes ago I installed the Nokia Maps 1.0 pre-release update from the link found in this post:
http://www.3g.co.uk/3GForum/showthread.php?t=62157&highlight=nokia+maps

It works perfectly, and the user interface is now better and more informative. It support A-GPS and has updated colors on the maps. For a full review of the updated Maps, check out this preview:
http://thenokiablog.com/2007/06/15/preview-nokia-maps-10-update/

I found the link to the above post in this post.

UPDATE: For updated information, check out these posts:
http://luposlip.blogspot.com/2007/08/nokia-maps-10-finally-for-n95.html
http://luposlip.blogspot.com/2007/08/new-nokia-map-loader-12.html

technorati tags:nokia, maps, 1.0, preview, update, agps, a-gps, n95

Great JavaFX Tutorial!

If you're the kind of guy/gal that needs good thoroughly worked tutorials to get started on new technologies, the JavaFX Tutorial from java.sun.com might just be for you.

I just stumbled upon it today, and it was a very nice read. And very focused on using what you know already (=Java) to learn JavaFX.

It's part 1 of a series of 3. The first part is a general introduction to the language, syntax, tools etc. The next 2 tutorials will be about handling client-server communication with JavaFX based applications.

Check it out right here:
http://java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/scripting/javafxpart1/

technorati tags:javafx, tutorial, getting started, article, introduction, jfx

JRuby moving to Java 5

Currently JRuby supports Java 1.4.x, which is good for all us supporting enterprise customers still on this old platform (i.e.: almost every SAP customer I've come across).

For all new versions JRuby will only support Java 5. This goes for current trunk and forward.

The JRuby 1.0 trunk will stay compatible with 1.4.x, and the JRuby team will provide a Retrotranslator/Retroweaver version, slower than the 5-version, but compatible with 1.4.x.

After all this is probably the best solution for JRuby, but now I'm even more eagerly awating the enterprises of the world to move to 5.

Read the announcement on Ola Bini's blog:
http://ola-bini.blogspot.com/2007/08/jruby-is-now-java-5.html

technorati tags:jruby, java 5, 1.4.x, ola bini, retrotranslator, retroweaver

Hibernate vs. Rails

Patrick Peak - the (unbiased?) author of the book Hibernate Quickly, has made a comparison of the persistence model behind Hibernate and Rails (=ActiveRecord):

http://www.theserverside.com/tt/articles/article.tss?l=RailsHibernate&asrc=EM_NLN_1944246&uid=2700586

The conclusion is, that Rails' ActiveRecord might be the best choice suited for small and simple data models, while Hibernate is best for complex data models with lots of joins and so forth.

While he might be right (I'm not in the exact right time and place to completely disagree on his conclusions), I wonder if he's aware of Mingle, and if he knows that Mingle is made in JRuby on Rails??

technorati tags:jruby, rails, activerecord, hibernate, mingle, comparison, opinion, RoR