Category: Technology

Categories
Technology

Kindle Versions

On Groundhog Day, I’ll have had my Kindle for a year. I’ve been working on an anniversary review of the device, which will get posted either to the Frugal Algorithm or Secret of Signals. Or perhaps a bit in both, not sure.

The buzz about the Kindle now is that a 2.0 version is coming out, February 9th. I imagine a new version is likely, but contrary to what people have been saying, there has been more than one Kindle variation released in the last year.

Currently, there are Kindles running the following operating system versions: 1.04, 1.08, 1.1, and 1.1.1. Amazon has stressed that all provide the same functionality. The only thing to account for the difference, then, is variations in the device. Not a simple swapping of parts, either, because one doesn’t need to update an operating system when one swaps identical parts.

I have a 1.04 version of a Kindle, and must admit to some curiosity about what improvements went into the 1.08 and 1.1 models. I know that one always takes risks buying version 1 of anything, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a case where an item’s internal architecture has changed three times within one year. Changed enough to force a new version of the operating system. At a minimum, I have to wonder what will happen when new software functionality is rolled out. Do we 1.04 owners get the same goodies as, say, 1.1 owners?

To add further to the confusion, some people have reported in the owner forums seeing an OS version of 1.2 in their devices, and there are differences with this OS, but Amazon has stated this operating system has not been released. So rumor runs rampant in the forums, because we have no other source of communication about what’s happening with the devices. To be blunt, Amazon does not communicate with Kindle owners.

Regardless of lack of communication, and despite being an “old” Kindle owner, I do still like my device, though I really wish we had folder capability. However, I’d really rather that Amazon support ePub, and release its AZW format to other ebook readers. And I’ll have more to say on this later, too.

Categories
SVG

The SVG Feed

I had originally created a Planet SVG in order to bring together a feed of SVG items. Once the SVG IG created Planet SVG web site, for all things SVG, I redirected planetsvg.org to it.

I still wanted a feed of SVG-related items, so I created the SVG Feed. Currently, the application queries SVG feeds once a day, including my own Delicious SVG-related feed. The latter was my way of ensuring that items related to SVG that aren’t accessible via a feed, or the related feed isn’t specific to SVG, get included.

The SVG Feed has it’s own feed, and uses Planet and Venus software. It only updates daily, as there are not enough items for more frequent updates. If you know of an SVG feed that should be included, send me an email.

Categories
Diversity Technology

Respect

I have spent too much time worrying about specifications managed by people who, frankly, don’t have a lot of respect for what I have to say. I am not a browser developer, specification author, nor do I fit within the narrow parameters of “people who are seen to be contributors”.

Years ago, I defined the term Coders-Only-Club, to designated the seeming feeling of being an outsider, unless one acts a certain way, or does a certain thing. I can definitely say unequivocally that writing books or weblog posts does not ensure entry into the Coders-only-Club, or perhaps I should term it, “Contributors-Only-Club”. To be honest, writing simple tutorials or examples, helping people, or answering questions doesn’t gain one entry, either.

What’s absurd about the whole thing is I’m fighting for something I don’t really need, because I do have viable alternatives I can use with my own work. I deliver every page at my web sites as application/xhtml+xml, which gives me singular power to accomplish wonderful things. I doubt, very much, that any browser is going to drop XHTML support for many, many years to com, so I can continue to incorporate SVG, or RDFa, or any number of new vocabularies that haven’t even been invented yet.

Frankly, I’m just wasting my time worrying about things I can’t change.

Categories
JavaScript

The jParallax library

Every once in a while, something comes along that is so well executed, it makes you want to jump up and down. That’s what the jParallax library, and the wonderful demos did for me.

Don’t take my word for it. You have to check out the library and demos yourself. No, you really have to.

(Thanks for the link, Michael.)

Categories
Programming Languages

Practice…but not typing

A post by Karl Martino reminded me of Jeff Atwood’s We are typists first, programmers second. Atwood was responding, in hearty agreement, to a post by Steve Yegge, who wrote

I was trying to figure out which is the most important computer science course a CS student could ever take, and eventually realized it’s Typing 101.

The really great engineers I know, the ones who build great things, they can type.

As I wrote in Karl’s comments, saying that fast typing is what makes a great programmer is little different than saying what makes a good carpenter is how fast they swing their hammers.

Fast typing is a by-product of extensive creation, whether that creation is web page markup, a stylesheet, or code. The more we create code, web pages, and designs, the more efficient we get with all of the tools used, including but not limited to, typing.

In addition, times have changed. I have no doubts that today’s generation of kids are speed demons on the keyboard—whether it’s on their cellphone or attached to their computers. A typing class would most likely slow them down.

If anything, what we should be encouraging is more practice with problem solving—the ability to figure something out on one’s own, without having to Google an answer or ask friends on Twitter—not typing.