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js4u

JS 4U 170: JQuery UI Sliders

June 28, 2012 8:45:00.942

Javascript 4 U

Today's Javascript 4 You looks at the slider widget in JQuery. 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, click on the image below:

slider

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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Thu'umcast 25: Dawnguard Arrives! (AAC)

June 27, 2012 22:54:26.994

Thu'umcast

Welcome to episode 25 of "Thu'umcast" - a podcast where Michael Lucas-Smith, Scott Dirk, Austin Haley, Makahlua and I document our trials and tribulations in Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Dawnguard has shipped (at least on the XBox) - and we're back to talk about how we're playing. We are joined by guest host Chris Grundtner - Austin and James are the only members of the regular cast who play on the XBox. All three of us have started out on the Dawnguard path, so that's what we talk about here. We'll be back soon with another episode - we'll have lots more to say about this as we play more!

If you liked our work on That Podcast, you'll probably like this. We intend to stay with the same idea - a gameplay podcast. If you don't want spoilers, don't listen - we are going to be talking about how we play the game, and what we ran across as we played.

You can subscribe in iTunes (or any podcatcher) using this feed, or this one for the AAC edition. We'll add the iTunes specific links as soon as they are available. In the meantime, join the Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter. If you play on Steam, join the Steam Group. Like the music? Pay Sbeast a visit, we thank him for letting us use it!

Links to all episodes and other information can be found on the Thu'umcast page.

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

Got feedback? Tweet us!. Enjoy the podcast, and we'll see you in Skyrim!

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Thu'umcast 25: Dawnguard Arrives!

June 27, 2012 22:53:49.148

Thu'umcast

Welcome to episode 25 of "Thu'umcast" - a podcast where Michael Lucas-Smith, Scott Dirk, Austin Haley, Makahlua and I document our trials and tribulations in Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Dawnguard has shipped (at least on the XBox) - and we're back to talk about how we're playing. We are joined by guest host Chris Grundtner - Austin and James are the only members of the regular cast who play on the XBox. All three of us have started out on the Dawnguard path, so that's what we talk about here. We'll be back soon with another episode - we'll have lots more to say about this as we play more!

If you liked our work on That Podcast, you'll probably like this. We intend to stay with the same idea - a gameplay podcast. If you don't want spoilers, don't listen - we are going to be talking about how we play the game, and what we ran across as we played.

You can subscribe in iTunes (or any podcatcher) using this feed, or this one for the AAC edition. We'll add the iTunes specific links as soon as they are available. In the meantime, join the Facebook Group and follow us on Twitter. If you play on Steam, join the Steam Group. Like the music? Pay Sbeast a visit, we thank him for letting us use it!

Links to all episodes and other information can be found on the Thu'umcast page.

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

Got feedback? Tweet us!. Enjoy the podcast, and we'll see you in Skyrim!

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25 Years of The Heeg Company

June 27, 2012 14:49:25.000

Congratulations to Georg and his company on reaching their Silver Anniversary:

7/7/1987 I founded my company, thus we will celebrate our silver anniversary 7/7/2012. Hereby I invite you and your friends and colleagues to celebrate with us. Saturday, 7/7/2012, an open day will take place from 10 am to 4 pm in our house in Wallstr. 22 in Köthen under the motto "Actually what does the company Heeg do?".

I'd love to be there with them to celebrate, but it's a bit of a walk for me :)

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ST 4U 251: Mapping XML to Objects in VA

June 27, 2012 9:10:24.224

Today's Smalltalk 4 You looks at using a mapping specification (in XML) so that the XML parser in VA will return Smalltalk objects rather than an XML document object. If you have trouble viewing it here in the browser, you can also navigate directly to YouTube. To watch now, click on the image below:

Mapping XML.

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:


Today we'll look at setting up a mapping of XML to Smalltalk objects via a mapping file. We'll still be using the same orders example we've been looking at; this time, we have the additional mapping file:

Mapping

To run this example, use:


AbtXmlBasicSamples mappedExample


and that code looks like this:


	| mappingDOM mappingSpec result |

	self isDataInFile ifFalse: [self setupData].
	self isMapInFile ifFalse: [self setupMap].
 
	" Create a mapping spec from the order map "
	mappingDOM := AbtXmlDOMParser newNonValidatingParser
		parseURI: 'order.map'.   "The image must contain Smalltalk classes conforming to the map."
	mappingSpec := AbtXmlMappingSpec fromMappingDOM: mappingDOM.
 	
	" Parse the data "
	result := AbtXmlMappingParser newValidatingParser
		mappingSpec: mappingSpec; 
		parseURI: 'order.xml'.
	^result abtXmlMappedObject.

What that does is read the mapping data first, to construct a specification - that will be used when parsing the XML in order to get objects instead of a basic DOM object. The results should look like this:

Orders

If you take a look at the mapping XML file, you'll see that it's pretty easy to understand - setting one up yourself would not be a problem.

Need more help? There's a screencast for other topics like this which you may want to watch. Questions? Try the "Chat with James" Google gadget over in the sidebar.

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games

BioWare and the Stupidity of Arrogance

June 27, 2012 8:45:11.620

Well, they did warn us: BioWare made the stupid call back in March to "stand by their endings". That's really not the worst part about how things played out. Sure, there's plenty of lore breaking here (the relays were just "heavily damaged" rather than destroyed - someone with a few working neurons finally remembered the marker they put down in "Arrival").

No, the really stupid part is the "F*** You" ending they added. If you are frustrated by the endings, it's fairly natural to turn around at the end, and take a shot at the "star child". In the original ending back in March, all that resulted in was venting. Now, it immediately ends the game with star child saying "So Be It" angrily, and the reapers wipe everything out - you get a fade to black with a beacon left by Liara as a warning to the next cycle.

That's just arrogance - it's the BioWare team telling the fans "Don't like our endings, well, screw off". Fine - I'll screw off. The Mass Effect 3 franchise is now dead. If you want to treat a paying customer (one who bought the games on PC and XBox) this way, then fine - I don't need to ever buy anything associated with the Mass Effect story again. Or anything that Casey Hudson is associated with, either.

Just to be clear - while I object to the 3 main endings, I don't consider those to be arrogant. It's the new thing they just added that's arrogant. To even get there, here's what BioWare expected us to do:

  • Have a save sitting just before the Cerberus attack (a couple of hours of gameplay before the ending
  • To get all three options, invest in another 5-6 hours of Multiplayer - your readiness rating rots down to 50% if you - like me - haven't picked up the game in a few months
  • After replaying a few hours of the main game, and investing all that time in multiplayer, you might be a bit frustrated. You take that out by shooting star child. BioWare decides you are unworthy at this point

No one needs to reward that kind of attitude. That's business killing stupidity.

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js4u

JS 4U 169: JQ UI Progressbar

June 26, 2012 8:49:18.477

Javascript 4 U

Today's Javascript 4 You looks at the progressbar widget in JQuery UI. 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, click on the image below:

ProgressBar

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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ST 4U 250: Debug Information in Pharo

June 25, 2012 10:37:20.478

Today's Smalltalk 4 You looks at a few debug/information tips for Pharo, culled from Mariano's site. If you have trouble viewing it here in the browser, you can also navigate directly to YouTube. To watch now, click on the image below:

tips

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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Amber Live

June 25, 2012 8:54:11.878

The web isn't just for Javascript anymore :)

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posted by James Robertson

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IM 83: Smalltalk Editors

June 24, 2012 11:42:23.668

Welcome to episode 83 of Independent Misinterpretations - a Smalltalk and dynamic language oriented podcast with James Robertson and David Buck.

This week Dave and I talked about a topic that's come up recently on the VWNC mailing list - a new editor for VisualWorks (and that would also mean a new one for all of the development tools in ObjectStudio). Cincom's Product Manager, Arden Thomas, asked for feedback - and it came in before wandering a bit far afield from the main question. In this podcast, we covered some of that discussion, and also covered what we think Smalltalk needs in terms of editing tools.

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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IM 83: Smalltalk Editors

June 24, 2012 11:41:57.204

Welcome to episode 83 of Independent Misinterpretations - a Smalltalk and dynamic language oriented podcast with James Robertson and David Buck.

This week Dave and I talked about a topic that's come up recently on the VWNC mailing list - a new editor for VisualWorks (and that would also mean a new one for all of the development tools in ObjectStudio). Cincom's Product Manager, Arden Thomas, asked for feedback - and it came in before wandering a bit far afield from the main question. In this podcast, we covered some of that discussion, and also covered what we think Smalltalk needs in terms of editing tools.

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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games

The Annoyance of the ME3 DLC

June 23, 2012 10:49:31.559

As I mentioned earlier, the new "clarification" DLC for ME3 is coming out on Tuesday. The way it's supposed to work is that you have to pick up the action just before you launch the final Cerberus mission (which puts you on the racetrack to the end). That leads to two problems:

  • What if you don't have that save handy?
  • Even if you do, what are the odds that you've been playing multi-player since then? That's right kids, to get to the new "clarification" with the better ending variants, you have another 5 hours of multiplayer staring at you

EA should ship a patch with this that sets the readiness multiplayer to 100%, so that at least that annoyance gets cleared.

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CSV and JSON for Pharo

June 22, 2012 19:52:46.534

There are new reader/writer frameworks for CSV and JSON in Pharo

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Expect Less Clarity in ME3

June 22, 2012 13:45:49.527

BioWare is releasing the "epilogue" for ME3 on June 26th:

BioWare is releasing the Extended Cut downloadable content for sci-fi role-playing game Mass Effect 3 on June 26, it said today.

I expect less clarity. Why? They are still holding firm to the "we didn't screw up the ending" theory of operation. Things won't get better until someone takes Casey Hudson into a room and explains to him - presumably using very small words - that he's managed to kill the franchise, and that the team will be executing a full retcon. Until then? The stupid will just keep rolling. Why do I say that?

BioWare also added that this new DLC will not change the ending, but instead expand upon it: "The Extended Cut is an expansion of the original endings to Mass Effect 3. It does not fundamentally change the endings, but rather it expands on the meaning of the original endings, and reveals greater detail on the impact of player decisions."

That's what we call an epic fail.

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ST 4U 249: DOMs and DTDs in VA Smalltalk

June 22, 2012 13:36:20.036

Today's Smalltalk 4 You looks at the standard development process using VA Smalltalk and ENVY. If you have trouble viewing it here in the browser, you can also navigate directly to YouTube. To watch now, click on the image below:

XML and DTD.

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:


Today we'll look at using a DTD in conjunction with an XML document - to get started, you'll want to load the XML Support and XML Examples. Once you've done that, you can have a look at class AbtXmlBasicExample class, and method #saxExample. You'll also see that there are other examples - you should probably have a look at all of them. Try executing the example code

Example

To run this example, use:


AbtXmlBasicSamples maplessExample


That will drop the XML file that's used first, and then execute the XML handling. The results come back this way:

DTD Handling

Need more help? There's a screencast for other topics like this which you may want to watch. Questions? Try the "Chat with James" Google gadget over in the sidebar.

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JS 4U 168: JQuery UI Dialog

June 21, 2012 7:42:16.639

Javascript 4 U

Today's Javascript 4 You looks at the JQuery UI Dialog box. 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, click on the image below:

JQ UI Dialog

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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