Weekly Twitter Summary for 2010-02-07

  • Finished Assassins Creed 2. 1. WTF is the Flash logo doing in the credits. 2. Epic ending. 3. Epic ending music. #
  • RT @jarrod_dixon Sorry, not liking the new jQuery docs. Compare old Selectors -> http://bit.ly/9J29JR vs new -> http://bit.ly/9iy6bf #
  • http://bit.ly/cR3ogD Facebook releases PHP compiler. #
  • RT @codinghorror "Boot up what server?" http://ask.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=29370&cid=3155380 via @sebastianlewis #
  • I may have said it before, but Crisis Core looks better than many PS3/360 games. And it's on PSP… #
  • Just realised my desktop background is _still_ a December calendar #
  • @luaduck My first one died after 3 years, two months. in reply to luaduck #
  • Trying out vim again (wll, gVim). Slate is a cool colour scheme. #
  • What really annoys me – Web hosts with 24 hour pre-sales support, but 9-5 tech support #
  • @howtogeek Really? I thought everyone knew that already. Google Voice must have given it away for the last group to think otherwise… in reply to howtogeek #
  • @Sirupsen link? in reply to Sirupsen #
  • RT @codinghorror latest Evony ad. Standard Evony ad disclaimer, "I only wish this was a parody, this is real" http://goo.gl/smhV #
  • @Sirupsen tweeting from school? Tut tut :P in reply to Sirupsen #
  • Anyone care to show me a link on how to go from a copy protected dvd, to having a MP4 video on my iPod Touch? #
  • Deleting forum.webicity.info tomorow. Anyone who wants to copy their stuff off it (i.e. posts) has until then. #
  • After using it a while, I apologise to vim users. It isn't weird and crap, it's just weird. #
  • What's the best game on steam for €17/17$? (Also: Damn steam's 1 to 1 conversion rate) #
  • Just registered on #Facepunch Hardest Captcha ever… #
  • @DrDaxxy Nope. Not for registering at least. It took me 3 tries, v's that look like y's, u's that look like v's, and c's that look like o's in reply to DrDaxxy #
  • And I've promptly discovered I'm unlikely ever to post there #
  • Ugh… Woken up unpleasantly. *moans*. 1:30am should be stricken from the clock. #
  • http://bit.ly/9Z5M3y – Microsoft puts the final nail in the xbox 1's coffin. #
  • RT @mikkohypponen Screenshot found in Panasonic TV manual: http://bit.ly/aK3Gvh Those filenames look like they are straight from Pirate Bay #
  • @charliesome it's the morning :P in reply to charliesome #
  • @charliesome Note smiley. That was sarcastic. in reply to charliesome #
  • I find it odd when sweets that are basically pure sugar advertise that they have no artificial colours as if it makes them healthy. #
  • Can't… focus… There goes any chance of getting anything useful done today. Too tired. #
  • @DrDaxxy I'm only the retweeter :P in reply to DrDaxxy #

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Sunday, February 7th, 2010 Twitter No Comments

Weekly Twitter Summary for 2010-02-07

  • Finished Assassins Creed 2. 1. WTF is the Flash logo doing in the credits. 2. Epic ending. 3. Epic ending music. #
  • RT @jarrod_dixon Sorry, not liking the new jQuery docs. Compare old Selectors -> http://bit.ly/9J29JR vs new -> http://bit.ly/9iy6bf #
  • http://bit.ly/cR3ogD Facebook releases PHP compiler. #
  • RT @codinghorror "Boot up what server?" http://ask.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=29370&cid=3155380 via @sebastianlewis #
  • I may have said it before, but Crisis Core looks better than many PS3/360 games. And it's on PSP… #
  • Just realised my desktop background is _still_ a December calendar #
  • @luaduck My first one died after 3 years, two months. in reply to luaduck #
  • Trying out vim again (wll, gVim). Slate is a cool colour scheme. #
  • What really annoys me – Web hosts with 24 hour pre-sales support, but 9-5 tech support #
  • @howtogeek Really? I thought everyone knew that already. Google Voice must have given it away for the last group to think otherwise… in reply to howtogeek #
  • @Sirupsen link? in reply to Sirupsen #
  • RT @codinghorror latest Evony ad. Standard Evony ad disclaimer, "I only wish this was a parody, this is real" http://goo.gl/smhV #
  • @Sirupsen tweeting from school? Tut tut :P in reply to Sirupsen #
  • Anyone care to show me a link on how to go from a copy protected dvd, to having a MP4 video on my iPod Touch? #
  • Deleting forum.webicity.info tomorow. Anyone who wants to copy their stuff off it (i.e. posts) has until then. #
  • After using it a while, I apologise to vim users. It isn't weird and crap, it's just weird. #
  • What's the best game on steam for €17/17$? (Also: Damn steam's 1 to 1 conversion rate) #
  • Just registered on #Facepunch Hardest Captcha ever… #
  • @DrDaxxy Nope. Not for registering at least. It took me 3 tries, v's that look like y's, u's that look like v's, and c's that look like o's in reply to DrDaxxy #
  • And I've promptly discovered I'm unlikely ever to post there #
  • Ugh… Woken up unpleasantly. *moans*. 1:30am should be stricken from the clock. #
  • http://bit.ly/9Z5M3y – Microsoft puts the final nail in the xbox 1's coffin. #
  • RT @mikkohypponen Screenshot found in Panasonic TV manual: http://bit.ly/aK3Gvh Those filenames look like they are straight from Pirate Bay #
  • @charliesome it's the morning :P in reply to charliesome #
  • @charliesome Note smiley. That was sarcastic. in reply to charliesome #
  • I find it odd when sweets that are basically pure sugar advertise that they have no artificial colours as if it makes them healthy. #
  • Can't… focus… There goes any chance of getting anything useful done today. Too tired. #
  • @DrDaxxy I'm only the retweeter :P in reply to DrDaxxy #

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Sunday, February 7th, 2010 Twitter No Comments

First projects

One of my online friends has started learning programming in C++ and Python a few months ago. While he seems fairly competent in it, he was complaining that he feels he hasn’t acheived anything worthwhile in it. He said he just can’t think of anything useful to make.

This reminded me of when I was starting out (and again when I was starting out with Javascript, and again with PHP, and again with… you get the picture). Like him, I also struggled to think of something to make. My first trivial program was a Java clock applet when I was 13. I saw one on another site and decided to make one for my own. My first non-trivial program was a social network, written in PHP when I was 15. Two years to think of an decent idea that I could keep working on until completion.

I think the problem with beginners projects by self-learners is one of overreaching. I’ve certainly done it a lot. If they try to write a social network, they want to write Facebook. If they write a forum, they want to write vBulletin. If they write a game, they want to write Fallout 3. All of these were written over a significant amount of time by large groups of people.

My advice is this: Start small. Reduce whatever you plan to build to it’s basics. A social network can be reduced to users who can add friends, edit profiles and leave comments on other’s profiles. A forum can be reduced to users creating threads and posts. A game can be something like Pacman. Implement these basics. When you have them done, you will have enough motivation to get the rest of the stuff done (login, logout, etc.). While you can’t assume designing a successful product is as simple, as the linked blog post shows, designing a beginners project to practice your coding is easier than designing a product to base a business around.

Despite not being quite that simple, many successful products are based on simplicity. Compare Twitter to Facebook, punbb to vbulletin, Google Chrome to Firefox. Simple and fully-featured are two equally valid design strategies (although I tend to favour simple products myself), but simple ones are much easier to get going.

Once you have your basic program written, you can then add features to it. You could add image uploads to your social network, bbcode to your forum or extra enemies to your game. Further again, you can add groups to your social network, tagging to your forum, and new level types to the game. Since you already have a working base to start from, it’s much easier to look at it feature by feature, instead of waiting ages until you have anything that works.

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Friday, February 5th, 2010 Programming No Comments

Weekly Twitter Summary for 2010-01-31

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Sunday, January 31st, 2010 Twitter No Comments

Weekly Twitter Summary for 2010-01-24

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Sunday, January 24th, 2010 Twitter No Comments

Seeing your old code

Lately I have been working on one of my oldest pieces of code again. This code is that of a website I created for my school about 2 years ago, when I had just started programming.

Given that (a) it’s written by a beginner (me two years ago) and (b) it’s PHP, you wouldn’t be surprised to hear that the code is bloody awful. Even for a basic CRD app (I hadn’t programmed the U bit), it sucks.

Hardcoded numbers and categories everywhere, no sign of code organisation, redundant code, copy/paste as a design pattern and inconsistent naming. It’s a wonder that information going into the database was even escaped. And let’s not talk about character encodings.

Needless to say, now that I’ve picked up the code again, it’s had a swift rewrite. It’s still pretty crap, but at least it doesn’t screw up completely if you type a euro sign.

Has anyone else ever seen some of their first code and gone: “I can’t believe I wrote this crap”?

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Sunday, January 17th, 2010 Programming 4 Comments

Weekly Twitter Summary for 2010-01-17

  • @kevindente Already bet you to it: http://twitter.com/MachaHack/statuses/7163064710 in reply to kevindente #
  • 5 minutes to upload 2 megabytes? Time to yell at my ISP again. #
  • 20 minutes now… Is my ISP throttling FTP or something? #
  • Fuck. Code works on test server. Blank screen on live… #
  • Note to self: Rewrite entire school website. Silly things break it. One of my first, and definitely least proud, bits of coding. #
  • Typoed "rm *~" as "rm *". Wiped out twenty minutes of changes. D'oh. #
  • Just put together and booted my new PC #
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 is nearly as easy to install as Linux. Much more pleasant than all those bloody XP installs #
  • My laptops dvd writers scarily high coaster rate strikes again… #
  • 2 panic attacks today while building PC: 1: No graphics. I forgot a power cable. 2. Windows hangs during installation. Bad DVD. *phew* #
  • Disc does not contain x64 drivers for graphics card. Drivers are 130mb download. *sigh* #
  • @Sirupsen You didn't get a "Learn x in 24 hours" book, did you? in reply to Sirupsen #
  • IM+. Once the best iPod multi-IM app, now a horrid piece of bloatware. #
  • Fallout 3 patch is big – painful big. And the GFWL progress bar only seems to have two positions. 0% and 99%. #
  • *sigh* I hate explaining computer stuff to my non tech friends. Doubly so over msn. #
  • @DrDaxxy Except when your friends can't tell the difference between a Word Document and a 7-zip archive… in reply to DrDaxxy #
  • My laptop's Vista partition seems to have accidentally Google Chrome. #
  • Ah found it. WTF do they put the .exe in AppData for? #
  • I got a free HDD :) . It's an IBM Deathstar :( #
  • @DrDaxxy Yup, checked the model number in reply to DrDaxxy #
  • @benofsky Wow. The year I was up there, we managed 6. Plus some graphs. in reply to benofsky #
  • @benofsky That said my group mainly goofed around when we got class off to do work. in reply to benofsky #
  • @shadiku IIRC, namecheap.com takes paypal. in reply to shadiku #
  • @shadiku $3 yearly for .info and $10 yearly for _most_ others in reply to shadiku #
  • It's a sad fact that there is nothing on Cydia anymore of interest to non-techies that can't be got on the App Store. #
  • I don't need @zodttd 's emulators anymore – PSP ones are better, and Winterboard and MobileTerminal are the only other two JB apps I use. #
  • And tbh, I could do without both of those. The only "theme" I have active in Winterboard is the background on home screens. MT is unused #
  • To sum up the last few tweets, the only reason I can see anyone _needing_ a jailbreak is to unlock. A good 3.2 fw would get me unjailbroken. #
  • @Sirupsen Umm… why? in reply to Sirupsen #
  • Anyone know a good bug tracker/planner for one person projects? I've been using Mantis up until now, but I want to try others. Not Bugzilla. #
  • @Sirupsen Web sites can change the colour of scrollbars. in reply to Sirupsen #
  • @Sirupsen It used to be IE-only, but webkit implemented it, so presumably it's now travelled downstream to Chrome. in reply to Sirupsen #
  • Spent two hours fixing a problem on school website to find the cause: Their host is still using PHP4 – Even the free hosts have updated now #
  • @compwhizii @DrDaxxy I'd tell them to get a new host, but they wouldn't listen. They've stuck with the same one since their original website #
  • Which was set up 2002, and was lost (no backups) a few years back. #
  • @charliesome Never used iFile, and uninstalled installous when they tried to appoint themselves in charge of my iPods "security". in reply to charliesome #
  • Please, please, please turn your screen resolution up from 640×480. *ugh* #
  • @Sirupsen People with bad vision should turn font sizes up or use zoom. Not screw with the resolution. in reply to Sirupsen #
  • @luaduck My speed normally is 1 down – .1 up. Considering yourself lucky :P in reply to luaduck #
  • Version 2.0 of the school website might be a decent start for a custom CMS :P . (Version 1.0 is a heap of shit) #
  • Nearly on 2k rep on SuperUser :) http://superuser.com/users/679/macha. Wow I've wasted a lot of time. #
  • RT @NathanBowers: Audiophile Magazine reviews the first CD player in 1983. Reads like a review of a horseless carriage : http://is.gd/6kme8 #
  • @codinghorror: MSO is down. #
  • Tried Basecamp. Very pretty, but apart from that, quite average #
  • Note to self: When booting from dvd, remember to put dvd in first… #
  • @benofsky Win anything? in reply to benofsky #
  • Wow… I can't believe I skipped this last time through. Fallout 3 – best. intro. ever. #
  • @benofsky Very nice! in reply to benofsky #
  • Woken up by EVERY dog in the village barking #

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Sunday, January 17th, 2010 Twitter No Comments

Building a PC

A while back I decided to build a PC from parts for the first time. Why didn’t I ever do so before? (a) Lack of money, and (b) Worry I’d screw something up. Of course, what kind of computer nerd would I be if I never built my own?

So first things first, the specs (some components old, the rest ordered from komplett.ie):

  • MSI G41M-F Motherboard
  • Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 (2.5Ghz)
  • Geforce 210 (512mb)
  • 2GB RAM
  • 630W PSU
  • 500GB HDD
  • Nox Saphira Case
  • DVD±RW drive

Nothing astounding there. A decidedly below-par graphics card for a new system, but considering it was my first buld, I didn’t want to spend loads in case I screwed up. Plenty of room for expansion later however.

The first part of the build went easy enough. A minor beginners mistake when I didn’t check which way I was putting the heatsink beforehand, so I had to unwrap more of the CPU fan cable than otherwise needed (which meant I later had to cable tie it to another cable to keep it away from the fan blades).

The system was assembled and wired up, hassle-free. Turning it on first time yielded spinning fans, spinning hard drive, running graphics card, no CD drive and no display. After a minor panic attack, it turned out I’d forgotten to plug in the extra 12V power cable for the motherboard. That solved, the system booted up fine.

System setup was the next step. The first OS to go on was Windows Server 2008 R2. Why Windows Server? Because I’m a cheapskate, and could get it for free from Microsoft Dreamspark. That started installation. Everything looked fine, but it froze at expanding Windows files. A quick install of Fedora 10 proved the system was capable of running an OS, and even Windows XP ran fine. Then it dawned on me. I burned a new disc, and Server 2008 R2 installed fine.

A little tinkering was needed to get a decent desktop experience from the Server OS. This is actually so common, there are websites for converting Server 2008 to a Vista-esque PC and the same for Server 2008 R2 to 7.

The system runs fine, and can handle all my games without any difficulty, except Fallout 3. I don’t know what’s causing the Fallout 3 problem, but it freezes randomly within the first 5 minutes. A quick google reveals some people have the same problem with Windows 7, so it may just be an incompatibility, so I’ll have to hang on and wait for another patch.

In total (remember, some parts are from old systems), this build cost me just under €350. Could I have gotten a comparable system for €350? Checking on Dell, the same money would buy me a Pentium Dual Core E5300 and integrated graphics, so probably not.

Footnote: I’ve written this post while trying out Windows Live Writer. It seems cool. My one problem is it doesn’t quite render my theme right in the edit section, but apart from that it is fine. Anyone know of any Linux programs with similar features?

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Tuesday, January 12th, 2010 Me, PCs No Comments

Weekly Twitter Summary for 2010-01-10

  • @benofsky What's the project? And for this year's or next year's? Bit late for this years :P in reply to benofsky #
  • @benofsky Cool. I entered with some friends this year, but it was a half-assed project, so we didn't get through. in reply to benofsky #
  • Right Firefox, you've blown it. 2 days in a row you've died horribly, and you've corrupted a huge download at 98%. #
  • Now how do I disable Flash on Chrome? It has a seizure on any page with Flash. #
  • @Sirupsen It is updated… in reply to Sirupsen #
  • @Sirupsen Version number: 4.0.280.0 . in reply to Sirupsen #
  • @Sirupsen Same place as you. I forgot to sudo apt-get update in reply to Sirupsen #
  • Assassin's Creed 2 is epic. So is it's soundtrack. #
  • @DenzoNL Maybe you should in reply to DenzoNL #
  • @luaduck I'd hate that. My connection can be like that sometimes. in reply to luaduck #
  • They just couldn't resist it, could they? Its-a-me, Mario! in Assassin's Creed 2 #
  • @gotmelik I prefer TTR2. TTR3 is too obviously after your money :P in reply to gotmelik #
  • Got Guitar Hero 3 guitar for €5 in shop. #
  • Fuck Fuck Fuck. Click of death on mothers unbackedup hard drive, containing much family photos. #
  • RT @codinghorror the endless PC backwards compatibility morass http://is.gd/5NpyH #
  • Am I the only one not getting snow? #
  • School tomorow :( #
  • Snow now! Finally… #
  • I might have a day off tomorow :) #
  • @DrDaxxy Too distracting, too much effort :P in reply to DrDaxxy #
  • Apparently PyGTK can't word wrap text in TreeViews … wtf? #
  • RT @compwhizii My code debugging method: Shove random echos in to find where the problem is. #
  • @compwhizii Join the club. (Or Console.WriteLine() or print or System.out.println() depending on the language of the week) in reply to compwhizii #
  • School is closed :) – I'm feeling sick :( #
  • Wow I suck at writing GUI code. #
  • Is anyone else getting French language spam that bypasses gmail's spam filters? #
  • Looking at VPSes ATM. Why do web hosts have such an obsession with monthly payments? I like to pay and forget about it until next year. #
  • Tweetdeck for iPhone with desktop sync – so unstable, I couldn't even manage one tweet. #
  • Anyone have any suggestions for VPS hosts? Absoulute highest budget €300/£270/US$420 per year. Preferably costing less. #
  • If I have to install Windows XP one more time this month… *sigh* #
  • Why are all the questions in the middle of installation anyway? #
  • Yay! Extra week off! #
  • Post better not be closed aswell. My new PC still hasn't arrived #
  • @Dawei_Fan I'm not too fussy. Good value, stable and not too many limitations (I.e. No blocking irc or game servers). in reply to Dawei_Fan #
  • Downloading Drivers from Dell at 700 B/s. Err… wtf is up with their servers? #
  • Virus on two day old install of XP. How the fuck did that get there? I haven't installed anything but AVG yet… #
  • @MachaHack Oh and nice job AVG. You completely missed it in yesterday's full scan… in reply to MachaHack #
  • @Sirupsen Didn't know you'd done any lua #

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Sunday, January 10th, 2010 Twitter No Comments

Dear Adobe, Apple and Sun, your update is not important enough that you have to crash my game

Auto updaters are great. They keep Windows secure, they save me having to manually install each time with Firefox, they’re completely transparent with Chrome and on Linux, the whole system’s updates are controlled through the one interface. Some are less ideal. Paint.NET prompts you to update on startup, usually when you’ve just turned it on for a quick edit (and you can’t use it while it downloads the updates – apparently this is fixed in the newest version). It’s still better than nothing however.

There are one class of updates that aren’t quite so great however. These are the ones that decide they need to sit in your system, all running simultaneously. And when there is an update? It’s so important that they need to pop up a window to alert you of this, even if you have no intention of going near said application for a week. Or maybe they are like Apple’s. An update to iTunes includes Safari by default. Why?

The other day, I was two hours into a Supreme Commander LAN party. While I was about to start the final attack, what happens? The game minimizes, and a message pops up. New update for Adobe Reader. Last time I opened a PDF was a week ago (against my will). On my system, once you minimize any of these games:

  • Oblivion
  • Supreme Commander
  • Call of Duty 5
  • Team Fortress 2
  • Unreal Tournament III
  • etc.

They aren’t coming back up again. Say goodbye to your progress if there isn’t a recent save. I tried in vain to start the game again. Click the taskbar entry. Up pops another Window:

“Supreme Commander Application has stopped responding”

It closes. I end up disconnected from the LAN game. Up pops to the nearly defeated player “Macha has been defeated”. All because some stupid cruddy app to open files created by those too lazy to make an actual web page decided it needed to update itself right now. (Yes, I am aware Adobe Reader and PDFs are useful to some people in some situations. I am not one of them).

While the Java updater was not the guilty culprit this time, it has been at other times, with behavior similar to that of Adobe’s updater.

That is one clear advantage to console gaming. The nearest equivalent is the 360’s forced update or be signed out of xbox live being applied to single player games as well, and that’s not nearly as bad.

I can remove these applications from startup of course, but somehow they seem to always make their way back there.

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Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 Gaming, PCs No Comments
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About Macha

I'm a 16 year old hobbyist programmer who programs in Java, PHP, Javascript and C#. Among the more interesting things I've programmed are a Javascript Simcity clone, and I'm currently doing a Java IM server and client. I'm also a big fan of video games, with my current favorites being Team Fortress 2 and Call of Duty 4.

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Github: Macha
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Twitter: MachaHack
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