Which Computer for You?

Well being in the IT world, I quite often get asked the question:

What kind of computer should I get, Mac or Windows (or other)?

The bottom line answer is.... which ever you like or want, but most importantly which ever you are most comfortable with, but really it depends on what you need. I say this since most people know that I don't like Windows, and they know I use Linux, but when they see me with a notebook, I use a MacBookPro (and before that a PowerBook G4) and they know my wife uses Windows. So which is the best platform... which do I recommend.... well all and none! So like I said, it depends on 'you'. What do you want, like, know? But truthfully, what do you need?

What do you want:
Honestly if you know what you want, why are you asking? But that is not my point. If you really want something and are willing to learn something new, then go for it. The bottom line is that no platform is better than the other nor worse. Now in some cases depending on what you do, some platforms have more options that may fit you life style and requirements but all will do what you want (in some manner or another) and all will have some sort of solution.

What do you like:
If you like something, why? is it because it is trendy, is it cool, or do you just want to stand out and be 'different'? I personally like Linux since it is Open Source and I believe in the idea of Open Source (this does not mean I think all should be free, but this post is not about that). So since I have a personal like for the ethics behind Linux, I like it. Now does that mean that I should say that everybody should like Linux or that I think everybody should use Linux, no, just that I like there ethics. At the same time I'm a programmer, so people instantly think that I like Linux for that reason, and again no... I like it cause it is 'free' and because I develop apps for Unix/Linux, honestly, platforms like  HPUX, IBM AIX and SUN Solaris are much better and mature Unix platforms, but again Linux wins in my mind for the open source ethics reasons.
So back to what you like: if you like a platform for whatever reason, than like it and use it, don't switch because of what others think (including me)

What do you know:
What platform do you know the best and which are you more comfortable on? As you've guessed, I know Linux/Unix/Mac, but I actually know Windows pretty well too (well enough for what I use it for). Why I think 'what you know' is important is for 2 reasons: 1. you'll have an easier time figuring out problems if you are comfortable and have personal experience. Come on we've all had problems before... like installing a printer. If you know how to do it on a PC don't think that you can do it on a Mac or Linux box, its not the same on all (its not necessarily hard, but not the same). If want the fewest headaches, use a platform you know. My second reason is selfish.... if you know your system you won't be asking me questions as often.

But the bottom line question should be:
What do you NEED:
Why is this the most important question... because like I said earlier, any platform can you anything you want it to do. Just some will do it easier and some will take more work. Plus the question of what you need help tie in the previous 3 questions. Typically what you need will drive what you want, if will most-likely be based on what you like, if you need it, you've probably been doing it and there for it has been done on a platform that you are comfortable with.

So basically if you've guessed, I'm not a big fan of promoting 'switching'. If you 'want' to switch platforms, do it because you WANT to, not because you think the other platform is more trendy. The number of people I know who have chosen to go Mac or Linux because they want to be different or trendy... ugh... Macs are great, they will do everything you want and typically everything you need, but don't expect every piece of software you use on a Windows computer to be available, especially if you use lots of 3rd party Excel add ons... Similarly, if you like the way tools like iPhoto and some other Mac ONLY tools work, you won't find many of them on Windows (not yet). And if you want to try linux... well Linux is my platform of choice for WORK, not play. I can do basically everything I need to do for work on my Linux computer (with the exception of work with files made for Office, yes OpenOffice works great, but there are some things you need a comercial version of Word for, and yes you can install them via Wine or an emulator, but still not the same). So does this mean that everybody should use Windows, no!, just that for the most part, there are more 'applications' available for Windows, but there are almost just as many for Mac and Linux, you just have to look a bit harder.

So back to the initial topic (not that I've left)... what is the best computer for you? here are some questions to answer:

1. What do you use it most for (email, web surfing, word processing/spreadsheets, movies, music, photos, gaming....)?
2. What tools do you use to do such things?
1. what platforms are they available for?
2. are there alternatives that will work for me?
3. What kind of problems have I had?
1. how hard were they to solve?
   
4. What kind of stuff do I see myself doing in the future?
1. when is that future

So with these basic questions answered, you should know what you do most and what works best with them. If you are thinking about switching, you should also now know if you programs you use are available or if there are alternatives. Also you should know what you feel more comfortable on based on the kind of problems you have and how hard/easy they were to fix. And lastly you should have a basic idea of what kind of stuff you see yourself doing in the future, and on that topic you should look at question 2 again and see what you options are. If you are thinking about getting into gaming, it will really suck if you find out you can't play that one game you really want. One thing you'll also notice over the process is that everything you do is accomplished with the platform you HAVE, so why switch, and again if you really WANT to switch, you will be roughly ready.  But also remember that if you switch, you can always go back (well sort of, if you leave Mac, unless you have Apple hardware, you are not going back with out a cost). My brother decided to switch from Windows to Linux... about a year later, back to Windows he went (that said, I will make this suggestion, if you are a STUDENT, go with windows, most school tech departments won't help you with Linux and most software they give you won't always work for Macs). Based on the above list of questions I also came to suggest to my wife that she should stick with Windows for her MBA program, but I did essentially use that list of questions, and now that she is about to finish her MBA in May, I think she'd agree, that having a Windows laptop has made her education easier to deal with, especially with the software that was provided to her.

So which computer is best for you?, don't ask me, ask yourself. Now once you've decided, I will try to help you as best I can ...

Eclipse, Subversion and Mac OSX

Late last month (June) Eclipse released Ganymede (3.4).  Typically upgrading to the latest release of Eclipse is a no brainer for me, since typically I'm already running the latest beta version, but surprisingly, not this time. I guess I just had too many other things to do that I just never got to it. So when I read the release post on the Eclipse site, I simply downloaded and installed without thought or question... bad idea... well at least on my Mac, I haven't upgraded my Linux system yet.

My typical install process of Eclipse is pretty straight forward: download, replace and install plugins.

1. download: I typically select 'IDE for Java developers' and this time was no different
2. replace: this is really a two step process, 1. archive current installation, 2. unzip latest version
3. install plugins: since I write programs in a number of languages I need IDE feature addons for all of them, plus there are a number of plugins I like that make my life easier.
   the shortlist:
• CDT: IDE for C/C++ coding, yes I could download the CDT version of Eclipse, but last time I did that, I found that it didn't include the Java IDE and I find it easier to add on the CDT then the other way around.
• Photran: IDE for Fortran coding (yes I often write/fix code written in Fortran), this too can be downloaded as a separate IDE but last I checked it had the same issue with Java as the CDT download.
• Pydev: IDE for Python
• Texlipse: an 'IDE' for editing and writing TeX documents.
• Afae: a generic editor enhancement that adds color syntax for many different 'languages', this comes in handy with Unix shell script editing. (also recently the developer/s added an update site to make it easier to install)
• Subclipse: SVN client add-on for Eclipse

Well there you have my basic list. And yes I use them all on a weekly basis. The availability of such plugins/add-ons is why I use Eclipse and endorse it and recommend it, plus the fact that it is available on almost every platform that has Java and works the same on all those platforms, why would you want to use another... but praising Eclipse is not what this post is about...

So as you are probably starting to guess based on the post title, Subversion on MacOSX is where my issues began. Basically without even thinking, I upgraded Eclipse... but at the same time I upgraded subversion via macports... the combined two updates is where things went nuts. The timing was actually completely coincidental, after the last Mac OS X software update, a number of packages on my macports list needed to be updated including subversion.

Well I can't answer for Windows or Linux (since I haven't tried it yet, but I've had a number of other issues with subversion 1.5 on a Centos box I manage, but that will be another post once I figure out how to fix it), but on Mac the latest version of subversion does not work with the latest version of Subclipse on Eclipse 3.4, well maybe it does, but it doesn't for me. At the same time Eclipse has selected the Subversive group to provide the built-in svn team support for Eclipse. Why they selected Subversive over Subclipse, which is developed by the same group that is behind subversion, is beyond me, but in reality the question should be "why did Subclipse retract thier proposal to provide subversion support in Eclipse". So again, here is where my troubles began... when I noticed that Subclipse didn't work I first tried Subversive... that didn't work. That was also when I realized that it may be because of my upgraded of Subversion not Eclipse/Subclipse so then I started to work on it from that angle.

So first I re-installed Subclipse, then I uninstall subversion and install via the binary at Tigris, only to then read reports of issues on mac, plus it didn't fix any of my problems, so I then uninstalled that package and went back to the macports version, of course this meant that I hadn't fixed anything. Then at the same time (as eluded to above) I started noticing issues with svn on one of my linux boxs which lead me to think based on research on that end that it was not an svn issue, but a client access issue. This is the point at which I learn that I needed something call subversion-javahlbinding. Well I quickly installed it via macports... no help.... then I tried installing the package available on the Subclipse update site... that went really bad... Eclipse would crash about 10 seconds after startup. So I had to start over with my 'replace' cycle and install all my other IDE plugins again. This time I made an additional backup of Eclipse with everything minus subversion support.

Anyways, well since Subclipse wasn't working with the JavaHL, I tried the SVNKit which I read about... that too didn't work, so again I decided to go with Subversive. Again I tried to install subversive... and again it didn't work. Then I read that only the UI was included in the Eclipse Ganymede update site and not the connectors. So I installed the connectors from to Polarion site and low and behold, SVN support was working, kind of. I could at least browse my svn repositories it just wasn't working with my projects. Regardless when I noticed svn was working, my mind was made up, I was going to use subversive... what I didn't realize is that it takes some work to migrate to subversive from subclipse, and I only realized this after I hosed the local copy of one of my projects... thankfully I had a backup of the latest version on another machine I was testing on. This is when I read the 'proper' way to move from subclipse to subversive... basically after some digging through the forums site for subversive I found that a number of users had similar issues, this makes sense since for many years now, subclipse was the only option for subversion access in Eclipse.

So basically here are the steps I had to use:

1. install Subclipse, plugin only, not all the extra subversion packages it 'recommends' or chances are Eclipse will crash after startup.
2. restart Eclpise
3. 'Disconnect' all projects using Subclipse
4. restart Eclipse
5. uninstall Subclipse
6. restart Eclipse
7. install Subversive including svn connectors not available in the Eclipse repository that are available on the Polarion update site 
8. restart Eclipse
9. one by one, 'Share Projects' for each project that was previously shared via Subclipse and select 'use existing information'
10. cheer since you should hopefully be done and all should now work using Subversive, well at least as far as I can tell, it works on my end.

So basically that is it... that is my rant and my solution for using Subversion(1.5) on Eclipse (Ganymede) on Mac OSX(10.5.x). Note this is not an 'endorsement' of Subversive over Subclipse, but in my mind since Eclipse has already done that, we might as well join them. As for my 'solution' I'm sure there are other ways, but this one worked for me....

Toshiba quits HD DVD 'format war'

"Toshiba said Tuesday it will no longer manufacture HD DVDs, effectively ending the long-running battle with the rival Blu-ray for a dominant high-definition format." Well I guess it is about time, but I just think the name 'Blu-ray' sounds funny. Come on.. it made/make sense when one says "I'm going to go buy/rent a video/dvd" and I can see where saying the same with highdef-dvd sounds good, but "Hi I'd like a Blu-ray" sound like a fruity cocktail drink.

read more | digg story

Just picked up an HDTV tuner

We just got the HDTV tuner converter box from Zenith (DTT900). It is amazing the quality change. Our old non-HDTV Apex Digital TV barely got 2 channels clearly before now gets all 14 channels available in HD, totalling to close to 40 channels. And they all come in clear. The tuner even sports an on screen guide. Let the TV watching commence (and still with out cable).

update: if anyone is curious why I didn't wait to get my discount coupon, I bought my converter at Circiut City... 30 day no questions return policy. I can simply bring the box back with my coupon, return it and re purchase it. That plus the Daytona 500 is tomorrow and I wanted my picture to be clear.

Alternative to Cygwin for Unix on Windows

I used Cygwin up until the point I made the full move to linux, but I always recommend Cygwin to those who need Unix in their windows. Here is an alternative that looks to be shall we say 'lighter'. UnixUtils seems to be a set of window binaries for most/many Unix commands with out the Unix Cygwin layer. They work straight in your regular Cmd. Basically Unix without BASH. So if you need this kind of solution... I guess give it a try... I'll stick with my Linux System (Ubuntu is what I'm currently running).

read more | digg story

Microsoft to buy Yahoo! for $44.6 billion

Microsoft has offered to buy the search engine company Yahoo for $44.6bn (£22.4bn) in cash and shares. WTF?

All I can say, if this happens, Yahoo, I'm out of here. I've been a yahoo mail user for a decade now, and for that same period, I've stayed away from most things MS. So again if this goes through... Google will have my email business.

read more | digg story

Nokia acquires Trolltech, goes cross-platform

I wonder what this will mean for the mobile market and for Symbian. I also wonder what are the real plans for the TrollTech product line. TrollTech is the maker of Qtopia but also QT the cross platform windowing package, which until recently KDE was based on. I can see where this move works with the linux tablets, but Qtopia is also linux-based and meant for phones.... do you think Nokia has plans on merging the two? or shifting away from Sybian, or do you think they may just do what they've done with every other mobile app company they bought... maintain for a year or two and then shutdown.... They did it with IntelliSync and a few others?

read more | digg story

Draft of HTML 5 Hints at a Brave New Web

This week, the HTML Working Group, which is the arm of World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) charged with updating HTML, published the first official draft of HTML 5, which will eventually supersede HTML 4.

And here I am, trying to learn XHTML and CSS, yes I know I'm way behind schedule but then again for the last 10 years or so I've been developing behind the scene applications and Java applications... my web dev days are long out of date... so yes here I am trying to learn XHTML and CSS, trying to refresh my JavaScript knowledge and pick up Ajax, plus looking into Python/Jython, but again that is more for behind the scenes... I've already worked with J2EE an Servlets, didn't like JSP, but now to have to worry about HTML5.... couldn't they have released this a year ago so that I could just learn it... oh well such is the life of a programmer... always having to learn new technologies and always one day behind....

read more | digg story

Open ID, first there weren't enough, and now there are to many

For those out there who have been following the whole OpenID, it has been pretty interesting. First the whole idea in my opinion is great, one ID to track your web-based life. At sites that support OpenID, simply setup your account and then link it to your OpenID, and then 'never' worry about all the passwords again.

My first thought was that this was great, and it would be great if this was link to say email or something. I was looking forward to when Yahoo (my primary email provider) would start supporting OpenID, but over the last month or so... I'm skipping ahead. So when I first heard about OpenID there were only a handful of providers. I found out about it through Plaxo. They recommend MyOpenId.com, so off I went to explore... and create my first ID. That too is when I thought about the fact that I wanted to connect my ID to my email...


So like I said.. OpenID it suppose to help sync and simplify our online identities, of which I have many. I have my Blogger/Google id through this blog, I've got my email id via Yahoo. I've got my blogroll id through Bloglines (well I didn't initially consider that an ID, but they do provide personal blogs so). And if you consider Bloglines and identity, then I've also got Del.icio.us, Flickr, MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, and then there is also Plaxo.

Well so here I had my OpenID at MyOpenId.com, then Bloglines announced they were providing ID, and I think they (and Ask.com) may have been the first to provide such ID. Then a few weeks ago as groups started announcing there 2008 line ups.... many others just started announcing they were going to provide IDs. This week was the most interesting, if not just the last 2 days. Late last year OpenID2.0 was finalized, and then yesterday both Yahoo announce that they were going to provide ID (link) and Google's Blogger has done the same (link). So now here lies the dilemma... I've been using Yahoo as my personal email for years... starting back in HighSchool so while I have a nice alias that points at my yahoo id, my ID is an old highschool name from my BBS days.... Now my Google/Blogger ID I've been using is more of the kind of web ID that I've been using as of late. Most new account logins use the same username especially sights that I comment on and such. So which to use....

Well that brings me back to my topic... at first there weren't enough ID providers, and now there are too many to choose from. The funnier part is that the one company that introduced me to the notion of OpenID and OpenSocial for that matter was Plaxo. Plaxo is a my synchronization of life. My yahoo, google, aim, and local addressbooks and calendars are all synced through Plaxo. My blogs, del.icio.us, flickr and twitter, are sync through Plaxo Pulse. SO if anything, Plaxo is my single ID, so while they accept OpenID and were one of the first to do so... why don't they provide??? Oh well I guess even with all the syncing and simplifying Plaxo and OpenID do, it makes sense to not connect your OpenID to a very public arena. I guess having a OpenID only provider will help insure security... The bottom line is, while it is a good thing that OpenID is now out in the open with thanks to BigWeb (Google, Yahoo, Ask, etc)... I've decided I like my quieter OpenID provider MyOpenID.com . That all said, I think if I ever did switch my OpenID to another provider, at this point it will only happen if Plaxo becomes a provider.

OpenID: what it is
List of OpenID providers can be found here.
List of site allowing OpenIDs here and here.

The power of Apple

News stories like this one from BusinessWeek are all over the place with Apple and its iPhone. They all make it sound like Apple created the idea of using a touch screen. And far be it from Apple from admitting that they were not the first. Yes way back Apple had the Newton, but Palm (or back the as part of 3Com) had the first PDA the Palm Pilot with a touch screen too. Then in the late 90s HandSpring released the first Treo, which was a phone/pda and yes with a touch screen..... Over the years Palm has release a number of Treos (I think to date we are up to 11 maybe more), even Microsoft has release a number of touch screen based phones (including some by Palm), HTC has been at the forefront of their hardware. But then Apple comes along and they decide that buttons are a thing of the past.... and thus the iPhone is released and now the whole world talks like they created the touch screen, heck they even created an iPodTouch and tried to trade mark the use of the name Touch with handheld devices... Anyways... I like Apple as much as the next, heck I'm even an MacOSX admin, but I'm a bit tired of all this articles about Apple and how its iPhone with a touch screen has revolutionized the market. That is not to say that is hasn't had an affect on the market, heck its affect has been one of the greatest... but history.... tells all.

read more | digg story

Facebook vs MySpace

A few weeks ago I killed of my Friendster account because I was tired of the constant emails and other privacy issues. Nothing to due with the usability of Friendster, just that it kind of annoyed me and I was tired of checking multiple social networks. Basically now I'm only using 3 social networks: Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn. LinkedIn for those who don't know is a Social Networking site for the business world. The kind of networking that people like Lauren and most MBA students do. An old mentor of mime tipped me off to LinkedIn around when it first came out and I love the simplicity of it. Anyways, I'm diverging from my topic. What I'd like to get at through this post is a simple comparison of MySpace vs Facebook and which suits me best. First off, I want to state that I don't think that one site is better than another, just that I prefer one over the other for my own reasons.






Facebook and MySpace (and Frientster): what they are:
They are all Social networks. They all let you keep in touch with friends who are on said network. And they allow you you in a mass communication way let all your friends know what you are up to and where you are at.

Features (basic ones):
Some common feature that basically all social network have now in days are:
1. Profiles: a simple list/description of you and what you like to do.
2. Status: what you are currently up to or a quick comment about how you are. MySpace also includes a simple 'mood' feature. With Facebook, if you are a Twitter user you can also link your Twitter posts to your Status.
3. Photos/Videos: the ability to store and share photos. A nice feature about Facebook, is that you can add application and sync with other online Photo tools. I personally like Flickr from Yahoo and I can share my photos straight into Facebook.
4. Mail/Messenger: the ability to send 'email' like messages to friends and contacts on your list. Most social networks also allow you to send mass broadcast messages to everybody in your network. MySpace calls these Bulletins, Facebook doesn't directly include this, but basically any time you add an application or an event, a bulletin like post is made to all your network and only to those who are listening.
5. Blogs: one the newer items added to most social networks is blogs. For those who don't know a blog (like the one you are currently reading) is a simple web enables log or weblog or blog for short. Both Facebook and MySpace include blogging tools, MySpace calls it simply a Blog, Facebook calls them Notes. The best part about Facebook is that you can import your 'external' Blog to your notes.
6. Themes: MySpace has them, Friendster kind of had them, Facebook does not.

My thoughts:
While what I've stated here is nothing new to most, let me tell you where I stand.... Basically I only use MySpace because some of my friends and family refuse to make the leap to Facebook, just like many originally did not want to make the leap for Friendster to MySpace (I was one of those). Overall I prefer the usability of Facebook over MySpace. One of my biggest complaints about MySpace is also one of the best things that MySpace offers, Themes. Themes are a great way for a person to share about themselves, but in the MySpace realm, the sky is the limit and that can cause problem and browser incompatibilities. The number of times I've tried to view friends MySpace pages and sat there and watched my browser spin till it crashed was ridiculous, to the point I even quit visiting some of my friends pages, including both of my brothers. I eventually found a way to suppress much of a profiles theme, but then what is the purpose of having one. That said, Facebook does not have themes per say. You have tons of flexibility in what you show on your profile and what you see of others. Facebook accomplishes this via its own and its 3rdparty applications. Recently Google and a number of other companies and groups announce 'OpenSocial' (also check here for more on that) which will eventually create a 'standard' format/platform for similar application. MySpace, Hi5, Plaxo and a number of other social and social like sites have signed on to use this new platform. Even though Facebook has not yet signed on with this new platform (and may never), they currently are probably the base line for competition. And again these applications are what make Facebook shine in my view for the best social network. I'm online a lot and am spread across a bit of the internet. This blog is hosted by Blogger, I use Del.icio.us to track my bookmarks and sites of interest, and Twitter keeps people informed of my status. I also use Flickr for my photo hosting, Gifthat for my web wide wish list, and recently I've slowly started using Digg to share new articles I read and want to share. And I like to track everything in one simple location for which I use Bloglines. So here is where it all comes down... Facebook... my status is updated via my Twittering, my Notes via my Blogger blog, at the same time my Digg posts are posted to my Blogger blog as are any Flickr postings. Plus all other photos I upload to Flickr are available via my Flickr application on my Profile page as are the music I'm listening to via Last.fm. Basically everything in my web world is viewable to the public via my Facebook profile. Maybe you can do this all on MySpace and Friendster, but I don't have the time to figure out how, and Facebook just makes it easy.

On a side note Plaxo who is part of the OpenSocial alliance created Pulse earlier this year. Pulse also allows me to sync my world together and share it, that said, I personally don't consider Plaxo a social network but more of a contact management tool, that said definitely check it out.

Well I think that is enough on this topic for now, but.... only time will tell.

Bloglines notifier for beta(a bit of geek talk)

A quick bit of geek talk....
For anyone who used the bloglines notifier for mozilla, I've 'hacked' a version to open the new beta bloglines. Basically it is the same notifier as provided by bloglines with the url modified. So anyone who wants it, here it is:

Notifier for Beta. (you'll need to save it and install it manually)

It is as is, and I don't claim any credit for it or any problems it may cause. I basically did the same thing that was suggested for the MacOSX notifier as seen here.

Again this is the same as the one provided by bloglines with the exception that I changed the url it was pointing to from:
http://www.bloglines.com/myblogs
to:
http://beta.bloglines.com/b/view

One quick note, if you have your preferences set to use SSL, you will get some funny results, so I don't suggest it.

A workspace only a geek would love.

Exluding the really messy desk, I'm loving my workspace. Between VNC, a utility called Synergy (http://synergy2.sf.net), and my new found friend ScreenRecycler (http://www.sceenrecycler.com) for the Mac, I am happy. (For windows, you can try http://www.maxivista.com/ for Windows)

VNC is a great utility for remote displaying computers. I use TightVNC on linux and Vine Viewer on the Mac. Via VNC I am able to display my linux servers in Miami locally on my mac in DC.

Synergy is a great little tool tha let's you share one keyboard and mouse with several machines. It works for Linux, Mac, and yes even windows though I never tried it. Synergy let's me use my keyboard and mouse on my Powerbook without any addition hardware, plus it is free.

And today... Today I found a great app for the Mac call ScreenRecycler. SR let's me use a VNC session as a second monitor. Basically on my linux box using a vnc client I connect to my mac. That connection the becomes a second monitor for my mac. If you look closely at the center screen you will see my second mac window, typically I'd have the screen set to full, but for the picture it is better this way.

Latex + Eclispe = Texlipse

I've posted before about editing LaTeX files, but here is a nice tool I just noticed today. I've been using Texlipse on a daily basis to write my thesis. Texlipse is a feature/plugin for Eclipse that allows for editing and quick compiling of LaTeX files in Eclipse, (also with the use of PDFPerspective from JPedal, view compiled PDF files). Anyways, today I was trying to enter data in a table, this is not a difficult task, but in LaTeX, it tends to be tedious. Today however, I remembered a view I had noticed when I first started using Texlipse, the "LaTeX Table View". This view allows for the easy inputing of data and then creation of a table within LaTeX. The only missing item is border formatting, so you have to manually define the justification (left, right, center) and border lines in the actual LaTeX file. Oh well, but life is easier for now with this tool.


Update based on fussel73's comment.
I guess I should have not eluded to that idea that I've integrated JPedal's PDFViewer with TeXlipse, what I do is use the JPedal PDFViewer perspective as my base perspective and then open all my LaTeX files within that perspective. All this allows is that every time I open a PDF product from pdflatex, I don't have to switch my perspective. I've actually posted the suggestion to the TeXlipse developers of trying to integrate the PDFViewer as part of the viewing options with in TeXlipse, but overall it really is not that big of an deal. The only issue with my approach is that I have to close the opened PDF file before recompiling my document or the new resulting new PDF will not be available until I do so. fussel73, I hope that clears things up a bit. If you find a way of better integrating the two, please post and share.

Listen to a TV show or movie at work

While taking a quick check on bloglines to see what is new, I noticed this cool post at lifehack.org


Listen to a TV show or movie at work - lifehack.org

It is a pretty cool idea, I done this in the past by bringing a dvd to work and minimizing the screen. Of course I always tend to bring the movie window to the front and watching. This way, no more worries, no screen to watch. Right now I'm listening to Disney's Alice in Wonderland.