. .

general

Awesome, or Scary?

November 6, 2010 19:27:09.466

I'm not sure what I think about this :)

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posted by James Robertson

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smalltalk

Smalltalk Browser in the Browser

November 6, 2010 7:08:34.774

The Seaside project to present a useful browser-based Smalltalk code browser is being hosted on Google code:

Smalltalk Labs Browser, or SL-Browser for short, is a (hopefully) modern approach to create a web based code browser for the Seaside web framework in terms of both design and functionality.

There are instructions - including a walkthrough video - at the link.

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posted by James Robertson

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smalltalk

Cuis 2.9 Ships

November 6, 2010 0:37:08.601

Juan Vuletich has announced the release of Cuis 2.9

Cuis 2.9 is available at www.jvuletich.org/Cuis/Index.html . The release notes describes changes in recent versions (starting at 2.0). I believe many of the enhancements could be also useful for Pharo and rather easy to harvest. So, take a look!

Hat tip Torsten

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posted by James Robertson

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esug2010

Pharo Achievement and Progress at ESUG 2010

November 6, 2010 0:06:13.151

Here's another video from ESUG 2010, which was held in Barcelona, Spain, the week of September 13, 2010. In this presentation, Marcus Denker talks about the progress that Pharo has made recently. You can watch using the embedded player below, or follow this link to Vimeo.

Pharo: Progress and Achievement from James Robertson on Vimeo.

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posted by James Robertson

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itNews

Something's Afoot in Cable-Land

November 5, 2010 15:43:31.000

Spotted in Engadget

Last quarter was the first time ever that US pay TV subscription rates were down. Now, according to GigaOM's calculations, big cable suffered another set back in Q3, waving goodbye to over 500,000 subscribers in total. Comcast was saddled with over half of the carnage and lost 275,000 customers, while Time Warner took a 155,000 subscriber hit. Charter Communications and Cablevision fared slightly better, but still added 63,800 and 24,500 respectively to the industry pit of despair.

The easiest thought is that with a weak economy (and high unemployment), one of the simplest cost savings measures available is the cable bill. We returned one of the cable boxes that had built up around here when I got laid off, for instance, and would have done more had I not gotten offers immediately.

Here's my question though: when things pick up, will those subscribers come back, or will streaming TV (such as Hulu and Netflix) be enough? Gaming consoles like the XBox and Wii are inexpensive, hook right up to the TV, and give you all of that. Then there are the newer settop box entries, like the AppleTV. This could be the sort of disruptive event that ends up kick starting a transition...

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posted by James Robertson

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smalltalk

Smalltalks 2010

November 5, 2010 14:35:07.000

The schedule for Smalltalks 2010 is online - it looks quite good. Sadly, traveling to Argentina is not in my budget this year - I hope there's video.

The link doesn't go directly to the schedule - it's a Seaside app, and they didn't create a direct link. Go to the "Schedule" tab at the top of the page.

Hat tip Andres Valloud.

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posted by James Robertson

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humor

How Smart Phone Users See Each Other

November 5, 2010 9:25:30.000

It's funny, but it's so true :)

posted by James Robertson

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js4u

Javascript 4 U 3: Functions and External Files

November 5, 2010 7:24:35.072

Javascript 4 U

Today's Javascript 4 You - looks at Javascript functions, and how to execute Javascript code that comes from files external to your html page. If you have trouble viewing it here in the browser, you can also navigate directly to YouTube.

Join the Facebook Group to discuss the tutorials. You can view the archives here.

To watch now, use the viewer below:

If you have trouble viewing that directly, you can click here to download the video directly. If you need the video in a Windows Media format, then download that here.

You can also watch it on YouTube:

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posted by James Robertson

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gamecast

James and Michael on Games 4: The Civ-Cast

November 4, 2010 23:56:02.049

James and Michael on Games

Michael Lucas-Smith and I are fans of a number of video games - we both like the Fallout series quite a bit, for instance. Since we end up talking about the games we play so much, we thought it might be fun to do a podcast on the subject. Here's episode 4.

In this podcast, we talk about Civ IV and Civ V - we've both played Civ IV quite a bit, and appeared on Polycast to talk about it. Michael carries the chat about Civ V; I don't have it yet, since I'm on the Mac.

To listen now, you can either download the mp3 edition, or the Ogg Vorbis edition. You can subscribe to the MP3 edition in iTunes using this feed. You can subscribe directly in iTunes as well.

If you have feedback, send it to James Robertson.

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[gamecast4.mp3 ( Size: 8400729 )]

posted by James Robertson

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podcasting

Now in iTunes

November 4, 2010 23:13:48.069

My new Javascript series is now available through the iTunes store.

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posted by James Robertson

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gadgets

iPhone Users Want Flash?

November 4, 2010 13:40:32.887

Skyfire was providing an iPhone browser that promised Flash access yesterday:

Skyfire for iPhone promises to transcode Web-based Flash video on the fly to an iPhone-friendly format.

I suspect that the demand made Steve Jobs a bit unhappy:

Skyfire Labs was caught off guard by the demand for its services, and the company was forced to stop selling the Skyfire browser on iTunes just hours after the app debuted.

While I'm no fan of Flash, here's the thing - the iPad is a great device for watching streaming video, and all of the major TV sites - the network sites and Hulu being the ones I'm thinking of - use Flash. I'm somewhat surprised that the app got approved in the first place :)

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posted by James Robertson

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smalltalk

Smalltalk in the Browser

November 4, 2010 13:02:18.000

Torsten points to some work on the Omni-Browser running via Seaside:

since browsing Smalltalk directly in the webbrowser is easy to do Lukas today updated the packages for "OB-Web" to use OmniBrowser (the Smalltalk browser used in Pharo) to be accessible from a webbrowser too. Just download Pharo 1.1. and follow the simple instructions to run it and see yourself. Browsing the code you will find out that it is a nice example how to use the Comanche webserver (KomHttpServer) to write own web based services. It's also a nice example for AJAX communication between client side JavaScript and server side Smalltalk code using JSON.

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posted by James Robertson

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development

Language Wars are Back

November 4, 2010 7:58:24.849

There was a point a few years ago when many developers thought that the "language wars" were over: Java (or at least the JVM) was the new standard, and everything going forward would revove around that. Oh sure, things like Smalltalk would still exist around the periphery, but the thinking was that "everything" would end up on the JVM.

Things didn't quite end up that way, and Apple's dominance in the mobile space has a lot to do with that. While they are no longer forcing their favored languages on IOS developers, it's clear that most IOS work will be in Objective-C. That left Apple free to deprecate Java for the Mac, which makes a rather large dent in the Java "write once, run everywhere" story".

Not that Java is hurting - it's the preferred language for Android development, and Android is surging. There are a few issues, notably Oracle's lawsuit - but Java will remain one of the main development tools.

Another consensus changer over the last few years has been Ruby - it didn't all end up on the JVM. Meanwhile, Microsoft has had bigger problems with .NET than they thought they would. The upshot? It's still a diverse landscape for software developers.

posted by James Robertson

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st4u

Smalltalk 4 U 12: Getting Started with F-Script

November 4, 2010 6:30:27.293

Today's Smalltalk 4 You looks at the process of installing F-Script on the Mac. F-Script is a scripting language (like AppleScript) for the Mac, with Smalltalk syntax. If you have trouble viewing it here in the browser, you can also navigate directly to YouTube. To watch now, use the viewer below:

If you have trouble viewing that directly, you can click here to download the video directly. If you need the video in a Windows Media format, then download that here.

You can also watch it on YouTube:

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posted by James Robertson

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fnvdiaryAAC

That Podcast 7: Quests Everywhere (AAC)

November 3, 2010 23:11:56.684

That Podcast: FNV Diary

Welcome to episode 7 of "That Podcast: An FNV Diary" - a podcast where Michael Lucas-Smith and I document our trials and tribulations in Fallout: New Vegas.

On today's podcast, we talk about the huge number of side quests available in the game, and James goes into some detail about solving Cassidy's (one of the companions) problems.

You can subscribe in iTunes (or any podcatcher) using this feed, or this one for the AAC edition. You can get to the podcast directly in iTunes via this link. You can also go to the iTunes store and leave a comment, or join the Facebook Group and discuss the podcast.

If you want to download the podcast directly, I've provided it in three formats:

Got feedback? Send it to James. We'd really appreciate it if you head on over to iTunes and leave a comment - enjoy the podcast, and we'll see you in the wastelands!

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[fnvdiary7.m4a ( Size: 11238189 )]

posted by James Robertson

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fnvdiary

That Podcast 7: Quests Everywhere

November 3, 2010 23:11:54.344

That Podcast: FNV Diary

Welcome to episode 7 of "That Podcast: An FNV Diary" - a podcast where Michael Lucas-Smith and I document our trials and tribulations in Fallout: New Vegas.

On today's podcast, we talk about the huge number of side quests available in the game, and James goes into some detail about solving Cassidy's (one of the companions) problems.

You can subscribe in iTunes (or any podcatcher) using this feed, or this one for the AAC edition. You can get to the podcast directly in iTunes via this link. You can also go to the iTunes store and leave a comment, or join the Facebook Group and discuss the podcast.

If you want to download the podcast directly, I've provided it in three formats:

Got feedback? Send it to James. We'd really appreciate it if you head on over to iTunes and leave a comment - enjoy the podcast, and we'll see you in the wastelands!

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[fnvdiary7.mp3 ( Size: 8168232 )]

posted by James Robertson

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copyright

How Stupid is Copyright Law?

November 3, 2010 12:29:23.000

The Library of Congress tells us:

"Were copyright law followed to the letter, little audio preservation would be undertaken. Were the law strictly enforced, it would brand virtually all audio preservation as illegal," the study concludes, "Copyright laws related to preservation are neither strictly followed nor strictly enforced. Consequently, some audio preservation is conducted."

That sounds like hyperbole, but keep going:

The consequence is that all sounds recordings made before 1972 will have their copyright expire in 2067 - 95 years after the placement of these recordings under federal protection in 1972. This means that the oldest sound recordings in the US dating from 1890, will only enter the public domain after 177 years.

So something that gets recorded now is locked up for - literally - generations. It's beyond stupid and straight into the absurd. Truth really is stranger than fiction....

posted by James Robertson

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js4u

Javascript 4 U 2: Web Page Execution Model

November 3, 2010 6:58:47.169

Javascript 4 U

Welcome to Javascript 4 You - a new screencast series devoted to Javascript tutorials. We are starting with the basics - what is Javascript, and how can you get started learning it? Today's screencast follows from the first, with some more introductory material. If you have trouble viewing it here in the browser, you can also navigate directly to YouTube.

Join the Facebook Group to discuss the tutorials. You can view the archives here.

To watch now, use the viewer below:

If you have trouble viewing that directly, you can click here to download the video directly. If you need the video in a Windows Media format, then download that here.

You can also watch it on YouTube:

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[js4u2-iPhone.m4v ( Size: 4306695 )]

posted by James Robertson

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smalltalk

Parallel Execution in Squeak

November 3, 2010 6:03:20.569

IBM has open sourced the RoarVM work:

"RoarVM, formerly known as the Renaissance Virtual Machine (RVM) is developed as part of a IBM Research project to investigate programming paradigms and languages for manycore systems of the future. Specifically, this VM is meant to support manycore systems with more than 1000 cores in the future.

It's compatible with Squeak 4.1 and Pharo 1.2 - follow the link for details. This is the fun part:

It is compatible with Squeak 4.1 and Pharo 1.2, has full closure support and was tested with 8 cores, 16 hyperthreads on Intel systems/tested with 56 cores on Tilera TILE64/TILEPro64 processors

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posted by James Robertson

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web

How Not to Run a High Volume Site

November 2, 2010 18:12:35.509

If you're running one of the higher volume websites - and today (election day in the US), many of the political blogs are in that category - you don't want to see this:

Error establishing a database connection

I really wonder how many people don't know that they need a caching solution until they get hammered?

posted by James Robertson

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smalltalk

LightsOut game

November 2, 2010 17:34:33.589

Pharocasts has a nice demo of the "Lights out" demo from the "Pharo By Example" book.

Follow the Lights Out game exercise from the book Pharo By Example.

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posted by James Robertson

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smalltalk

Smaller Smalltalk

November 2, 2010 15:00:58.995

Spotted in Planet Squeak

Pavel continues with his work on a small Pharo Kernel. The latest release not only contains a headless 2.2 MB image but also a small 3MB image with KomHttpServer.

That's pretty cool - I know that a lot of commercial customers of VA and VW would like to see something like that.

posted by James Robertson

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news

Contrarian

November 2, 2010 7:25:11.536

I was over on Facebook this morning getting the daily screencast online, when I noticed the big "go Vote" banner they are running. As it happens, I'm something of a contrarian on the whole "make sure you vote" thing. In fact, I'd prefer fewer people voted based on one small thing: if you can't name your current:

  • Local representative (state and town/county)
  • House of Representatives Congressman
  • 2 Senators in the US Senate

Then please, do the rest of us a favor: stay home. An uninformed vote is worse than no vote at all. Pick whatever set of ideas you think represents you best; that's not the part that bothers me. Just make sure you have a a clue as to who is running, and what they all stand for :)

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posted by James Robertson

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st4u

Smalltalk 4 U 11: Getting Started with WebVelocity

November 2, 2010 7:17:26.276

Today's Smalltalk 4 You looks at the process of installing WebVelocity. If you have trouble viewing it here in the browser, you can also navigate directly to YouTube. To watch now, use the viewer below:

If you have trouble viewing that directly, you can click here to download the video directly. If you need the video in a Windows Media format, then download that here.

You can also watch it on YouTube:

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posted by James Robertson

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smalltalk

Seaside in Toronto

November 1, 2010 21:06:32.406

The Toronto Smalltalkers are having a Seaside evening:

The next meeting of the Toronto Smalltalk User Group in Monday, November 8. We have a request to go over some Seaside basics, so we'll build some simple Seaside applications and demo some code.

Follow the link for more details

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posted by James Robertson

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tv

Then and Now

November 1, 2010 11:20:36.723

Mark Cuban last May:

I just don’t understand why media pundits think that people are going to want to turn those BRAND SPANKING NEW HDTVs into PC monitors watching internet quality video. It’s a hassle. There is nothing that works out of the box. You have to be your own personal systems integrator and get the right box, figure out how to get content to that box over your in home internet, and then eat up your internet bandwidth in order to watch video that is dumbed down because it takes so much bandwidth. Why ?

Mark Cuban now:

Back to the Netflix using 20pct of bandwidth. Now that they have gotten there, it is going to be easier for Netflix than anyone else to grow their bandwidth usage. They can add streaming subscribers at a controlled level and it could work. Growing their usage as a percentage of total bandwidth consumption quickly becomes a trojan horse in the streaming wars. They are consuming so much bandwidth, they literally are blocking out the ability of anyone to compete with them.

Well, he's evolving. Before it was "it can't work, ever". Now it's "it can only work for Netflix". Apparently, 2 months ago when I downloaded a 17gb digital edition of DragonAge: Origins for my Mac (in under an hour) while my wife and daughter watched NetFlix, I was doing something unpossible.

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posted by James Robertson

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social media

Has he Heard of Email or Phones?

November 1, 2010 8:10:43.462

This makes me wonder - it's in a long screed about how Facebook is missing some level of privacy controls:

maybe I only want to tell a few close buddies about that episode with the VERY BAD bean burrito. maybe your girlfriend only wants a FEW honest opinions from her CLOSE friends on whether that new dress makes her ass look fat. and maybe your frat brother only wants to tell a few buddies about the AWESOME house party he's throwing next weekend, when he's planning to invite the smoking hot new freshman sensation over with 3 of her equally sizzling BFFs. and finally, maybe I only want to share that airfare deal on a Final Four Vegas roadtrip (& the pictures!) with my set of close friends. what happens in Vegas stays in a very tight and private social graph... you hope, anyway.

Maybe, just maybe, Dave McClure could figure out that sending an email, or picking up the phone works just fine for that class of problem. Expecting a social media service to solve every problem for you is.... silly.

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posted by James Robertson

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podcasting

About the New Screencast

November 1, 2010 7:10:55.136

I've just launched a new screencast series on Javascript - you can keep up with it on the archive page. I'll be continuing with the Smalltalk series as well. My plan at present is to alternate by day. So you'll see a screencast a day, on either Smalltalk or Javascript. Enjoy!

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posted by James Robertson

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js4u

Javascript 4 U 1: Hello World

November 1, 2010 6:54:47.488

Javascript 4 U

Welcome to Javascript 4 You - a new screencast series devoted to Javascript tutorials. We are starting with the basics - what is Javascript, and how can you get started learning it? Today's screencast introduces some basic concepts, which will be built upon as we go forward. If you have trouble viewing it here in the browser, you can also navigate directly to YouTube.

Join the Facebook Group to discuss the tutorials. You can view the archives here.

To watch now, use the viewer below:

If you have trouble viewing that directly, you can click here to download the video directly. If you need the video in a Windows Media format, then download that here.

You can also watch it on YouTube:

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[js4u1-iPhone.m4v ( Size: 3930919 )]

posted by James Robertson

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fnvdiaryAAC

That Podcast 6: Back to the Plot... Or Not (AAC)

November 1, 2010 0:52:26.302

That Podcast: FNV Diary

Welcome to episode 6 of "That Podcast: An FNV Diary" - a podcast where Michael Lucas-Smith, Makahlua, and I document our trials and tribulations in Fallout: New Vegas.

On today's podcast, we talk about the DeathClaws at the Quarry, the Ultra Luxe (and how Michael and Maki dealt with it more rationally than James did). Meanwhile, James got back onto the plot, siding with the NCR.

You can subscribe in iTunes (or any podcatcher) using this feed, or this one for the AAC edition. You can get to the podcast directly in iTunes via this link. You can also go to the iTunes store and leave a comment, or join the Facebook Group and discuss the podcast.

If you want to download the podcast directly, I've provided it in three formats:

Got feedback? Send it to James. We'd really appreciate it if you head on over to iTunes and leave a comment - enjoy the podcast, and we'll see you in the wastelands!

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[fnvdiary6.m4a ( Size: 14761082 )]

posted by James Robertson

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fnvdiary

That Podcast 6: Back to the Plot... Or Not

November 1, 2010 0:52:05.042

That Podcast: FNV Diary

Welcome to episode 6 of "That Podcast: An FNV Diary" - a podcast where Michael Lucas-Smith, Makahlua, and I document our trials and tribulations in Fallout: New Vegas.

On today's podcast, we talk about the DeathClaws at the Quarry, the Ultra Luxe (and how Michael and Maki dealt with it more rationally than James did). Meanwhile, James got back onto the plot, siding with the NCR.

You can subscribe in iTunes (or any podcatcher) using this feed, or this one for the AAC edition. You can get to the podcast directly in iTunes via this link. You can also go to the iTunes store and leave a comment, or join the Facebook Group and discuss the podcast.

If you want to download the podcast directly, I've provided it in three formats:

Got feedback? Send it to James. We'd really appreciate it if you head on over to iTunes and leave a comment - enjoy the podcast, and we'll see you in the wastelands!

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Enclosures:
[fnvdiary6.mp3 ( Size: 10752239 )]

posted by James Robertson

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smalltalk

Search as You Type with JQuery and Seaside

October 31, 2010 20:21:59.860

Smalltalk Labs has a nice simple example of search as you type for Seaside apps using JQuery - including code.

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posted by James Robertson

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smalltalk

Install Gemstone on Linux

October 31, 2010 20:04:31.380

Ramon Leon has posted step by step instructions for getting GLASS installed onto an Ubuntu system.

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posted by James Robertson

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podcastAAC

Independent Misinterpretations 3: That Javascript Thing (AAC)

October 31, 2010 12:30:12.844

Welcome to episode 3 of Independent Misinterpretations - a new Smalltalk and dynamic language oriented podcast with James Robertson, Michael Lucas-Smith, and David Buck. This week Michael and I discuss Javascript - the good, the bad, and the indifferent. We also touch on integrating Javascript with Smalltalk web technologies such as Seaside.

You can subscribe to the podcast in iTunes (or any other podcatching software) using this feed directly or in iTunes with this one.

To listen now, you can either download the mp3 edition, or the AAC edition. The AAC edition comes with chapter markers. You can subscribe to either edition of the podcast directly in iTunes; just search for Smalltalk and look in the Podcast results. You can subscribe to the mp3 edition directly using this feed, or the AAC edition using this feed using any podcatching software. You can also download the podcast in ogg format.

If you like the music we use, please visit Josh Woodward's site. We use the song Troublemaker for our intro/outro music. I'm sure he'd appreciate your support!

If you have feedback, send it to jarober@gmail.com - or visit us on Facebook - you can subscribe in iTunes using this iTunes enabled feed.. If you enjoy the podcast, pass the word - we would love to have more people hear about Smalltalk!

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posted by James Robertson

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podcast

Independent Misinterpretations 3: That Javascript Thing

October 31, 2010 12:30:10.284

Welcome to episode 3 of Independent Misinterpretations - a new Smalltalk and dynamic language oriented podcast with James Robertson, Michael Lucas-Smith, and David Buck. This week Michael and I discuss Javascript - the good, the bad, and the indifferent. We also touch on integrating Javascript with Smalltalk web technologies such as Seaside.

You can subscribe to the podcast in iTunes (or any other podcatching software) using this feed directly or in iTunes with this one.

To listen now, you can either download the mp3 edition, or the AAC edition. The AAC edition comes with chapter markers. You can subscribe to either edition of the podcast directly in iTunes; just search for Smalltalk and look in the Podcast results. You can subscribe to the mp3 edition directly using this feed, or the AAC edition using this feed using any podcatching software. You can also download the podcast in ogg format.

If you like the music we use, please visit Josh Woodward's site. We use the song Troublemaker for our intro/outro music. I'm sure he'd appreciate your support!

If you have feedback, send it to jarober@gmail.com - or visit us on Facebook - you can subscribe in iTunes using this iTunes enabled feed.. If you enjoy the podcast, pass the word - we would love to have more people hear about Smalltalk!

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posted by James Robertson

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podcasting

More Fallout Podcasting Coming

October 30, 2010 10:54:23.311

That Podcast

We would probably be recording (and releasing) another edition of "That Podcast" today, but it's time for the annual Halloween party around here.

Never fear though - we'll have one out sometime tomorrow, I think :)

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posted by James Robertson

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jobs

Good News on the Work Front

October 30, 2010 10:46:03.731

Things are looking pretty good - I'm looking at two offers right now. Given the huge tide of long term joblessness in the US right now, I have to say that this is a huge relief for me :)

posted by James Robertson

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