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Linkage: 2007.11.23

Nov 23, 2007

“Space Prison” by Tom Godwin<br/>

Plus Warren Ellis’ comments on this particular novel.

Spring v2.5 Released<br/>

* Full Java 6 and Java EE 5 support (JDBC 4.0, JTA 1.1, JavaMail 1.4, JAX-WS 2.0) * Full-featured annotation-driven dependency injection, including support for ‘qualifiers’ * Support for auto-detecting application components in the classpath and auto-configuring them as Spring managed objects * A new bean name pointcut element in AspectJ pointcut expressions * Built-in support for AspectJ load-time weaving based on the LoadTimeWeaver abstraction * New XML configuration namespaces “context” and “jms”, for maximum convenience * A completely revised integration test framework, with first-class support for JUnit 4 and TestNG * A new annotation-based controller model for Spring MVC supporting Servlet and Portlet environments * Extended SimpleJdbcTemplate functionality, including support for named SQL parameters * Officially certified WebSphere support * The packaging of Spring Framework jars as OSGi-compliant bundles out of the box * The ability to deploy a Spring ApplicationContext as a JCA RAR file, for headless application modules * JCA 1.5 message endpoint management, for Spring-managed JMS and CCI message listeners

The World of ECMAScript<br/>

It’s a full map detailing everything that exists within the world of ECMAScript (with JavaScript, ActionScript, and JScript being its most-famous implementations).

Pylons<br/>

Pylons is the newest of the current crop of web application frameworks, which also includes Django and TurboGears. It is strongly influenced by Ruby on Rails…

Usenet: Osdev: Mono vs. Micro<br/>

Traditionally, message passing requires high overhead, mainly due to the need in TLB invalidation on address space switches.

Usenet: Python: The Annyong self<br/>

The most common answer you are going to get is that explicit is better than implicit, which I tend to agree with.

Tracing the Eee<br/>

Inserting a Novatel mini PCIe EVDO card into the empty mini PCIe card slot disabled the built-in SSD – as a result, my Eee was unable to boot! I think this mini PCIe card slot is designed for an optional SSD that replaces the built-in SSD…

ies4osx<br/>

ies4osx makes use of wine to install and run IE. And wine needs a Intel processor, sorry. ies4osx is gpl and based on ies4linux by Sérgio Luís Lopes Júnior

Usenet: Osdev: Identifying USB boot device<br/>

If you have unique serial numbers in the boot sectors, that’ll help you to determine the correspondence between the two “addresses” – just see which two lead to the boot sectors with the same serial number.

Emulating the XO<br/>

Emulators allow you to run a “virtual machine” on a (reasonably powerful) host machine. There are a number of emulator systems available which can be used to run a simulated OLPC-XO.

Sugar on OSX<br/>

For the timebeing, this is NOT going to be a one-click install process. At the very least you will need to install Python and PyGTK separately. And then there is GECKO. And finally, the Sugar environment that is built on all of it.

Bitfrost<br/>

The specification itself mentions that the name “Bitfrost” is a play on the Norse mythology concept of Bifröst, the bridge between the world of mortals and the realm of gods. According to the Prose Edda, the bridge was built to be strong, yet it will eventually be broken; the bridge is an early recognition of the idea that there’s no such thing as a perfect security system.

Traff-o-data’s open source strategy<br/>

They’ve chosen Linux or Apache or open source in general because of a few simple reasons: either price, or functionality, they want a more modular system or they want something that has a smaller footprint, there are certain needs that they have that are satisfied by that type of software.

Comment on Parenscript<br/>

Parenscript aims to output readable, efficient JS code (two things which are in no way contradictory) with no extra runtime overhead and no barriers to integration.

Sciral<br/>

But there’s another class of activities for which neither traditional calendars nor to-do lists are optimal. If you already use a calendar and a to-do list, you’re probably trying to wedge these tasks into those tools, without realizing that they really call for a new kind of tool.

Linux on 40-pins<br/>

The Hammer, in contrast, is designed to fit into a “DIP” (dual in-line package) socket, similar to German board vendor SSV’s extensive line of tiny DIL/NetPC SBCs (one that recently gained a piggyback WiFi module is pictured at right).

Parts for your project<br/>

Salvaging parts is the absolute cheapest method for parts shopping. Thanks to custom ICs and SMD parts, newer electronics don’t normally have much in the way of salvage value.

On perfect code<br/>

Certainly no matter what its warts, the Unix/Posix interface has proven the test of time, and it has been responsible for the success of many a company and many billions of dollars of market capitalization. But is this the same as perfect code?

Postmodern Programming<br/>

Very few programmers tend to see their (sometimes rather general) difficulties as the core of the subject and as a result there is a widely held consensus as to what programming is really about.

Soft Security<br/>

SoftSecurity is like water. It bends under attack, only to rush in from all directions to fill the gaps. It’s strong over time yet adaptable to any shape. It seeks to influence and encourage, not control and enforce.

cc65<br/>

Because I wanted a C compiler for my CBM machines, I took the Atari compiler and started a rewrite. Until today, I have rewritten large parts of the compiler, all of the library, completely replaced the assembler, the linker and the librarian, and added a frontend to simplify use. All changes have been done with portability in mind, so porting to new 6502 architectures should be quite easy.

webpy<br/>

web.py is a web framework for python that is as simple as it is powerful. web.py is in the public domain; you can use it for whatever purpose with absolutely no restrictions.

Calculators<br/>

I really like the Voyager series of calculators, of which the HP-11C is one. It’s programmable, pocket-sized, well laid-out and runs nearly forever on a single set of three A76-sized watch batteries.

gOS: A positive review<br/>

The boot process is unmistakably Ubuntu with a color and graphics change. However, the desktop is a customized version of Enlightenment DR17, one of the most underrated and underexposed desktop environments available. goS puts many of its advanced options and features to good use.

Usenet: Python: Dependency Algorithm<br/>

Google for “topological sort python”. There are several implementations out there.

<br/> -m