Ever Wondered What Macros are Defined for your Project?

A colleague of mine recently popped down at my desk, asking me if there was an easy way to find the macros defined for a Symbian project build configuration. Given that a macro can originate form different places, its not always a easy guess. Of course you can look at the usual suspects, like the HRH file for the platform (\epoc32\include\variant\Symbian_OS_*.hrh) and the MMP file itself for the MACRO directive, but it won’t give you the full list, since the Symbian tool chain will insert its own on top. So how do you get it? Enter Carbide.c++ build configurations.

Am I Dreaming?

Just glancing through today’s Google News headline page reveals the following headlines:

China Withdraws from Tibet, with Apologies
Peace payments to Iraq a “phenomenal success”
Amnesty International reports massive drop in detainments
Gaza-West Bank divisions disappearing
Darfur peace process well underway
Music publishers: DRM has been unprofitable
Long-awaited spray-on solar coating now available
Big Three Unveil Emissions-Free Lineup
Sick of spam? New method stops it for good

Whew! That’s a lot of good news for a day. Can’t remember when was the last time I saw such a positive series of headlines.

There’s hope afterall, maybe…

P.S. There’s even Rowling: “I have heaps more to write about Harry”.
I’m speachless!

Spot the Error

Ok here’s a bog standard piece of Symbian C++. What’s wrong? Hint, its all in the status…

void CConnectionProgressObserver::RunL()
  {
  if (KErrNone == iStatus.Int())
    {
    iConnection.ProgressNotification(iProgressBuf, iStatus);
    SetActive();
    }
  // OnProgressNotificitionL is
  // a callback (void)(TNifProgress, TInt)
  iNotify->OnProgressNotificitionL(iProgressBuf(), iStatus.Int());
  }

Still didn’t get it? Read on…

What a Joke!

I usually have the Automatic Update services running in my home laptop, still running XP pro by the way. From time to time, it pops up, asking me if I’d like to install security updates and program patches, and being the good user that I am, accept what Microsoft deems best and just get along.

So when yesterday it asked me whether I wanted to install Windows Media player 11, to upgrade the version 10 already installed, I didn’t really think much, after all, I don’t even use that piece of bloatware, there’s way better solution for watching media, VLC and iTunes for music (I admit it may not be the best out there, but its convenient if you own an iPod) and I mean, an upgrade surely will be better, it will stop those patches coming in for media player 10, no?

WRONG!

Right after I agreed with the upgrade and a mammoth 25 megabyte download, (Why? Whatever happened to upgrading only the bits you need? Surely Microsoft hasn’t written the whole software from scratch? I guess Joel is right…) I get this:

WTF? Another 5 megabyte slapped on me on me and only the almighty know’s how many more patches to come! Whatever happened to shipping a new version of a product only when you are confident you can actually add value? What exactly is media player 11 adding that couldn’t have been delivered through patches in media player 10? Its being patched regularly for security holes anyway, how about updating for feature for a change?

Like the vast majority of users out there, I can’t count the number of times I’ve put faith in Microsoft software and got a very raw deal*. But the latest round of shenanigans have forced me to have got typing away again. Its just plain annoying.

P.S. Congratulations, Microsoft, thanks for providing an un-installation option at least, however, be sure to check the discussion at the bottom of the link for frustrated experiences of some users…

New Year’s Goal!

moar funny pictures

Goodbye 2007, Hello 2008

Happy new year to everyone! Even to you, the serial spammers, who keep on bombarding the blog with Viagra and P***** enlargement mails!

The Death of High Fidelity

In the age of MP3s, sound quality is worse than ever.

At least, that seems to be the analysis at RollingStone. Here’s an article on Wikipedia with slightly more detailed technical analysis on the same subject.

While at it, curious readers might want to checkout Mp3Gain. I’ve found it quite useful over the years to normalize my mp3 collection.

Netscape Navigator (1994 – 2008)

Unless there’s a miracle, its appears that AOL has taken the decision to cease development of Netscape Navigator. Its a sad day in history indeed, as the Netscape browser family was arguably instrumental in popularizing the commercial internet as we know it, by making it readily accessible to the masses. Netscape would ironically become a victim of its won success later on, falling from grace spectacularly, only to be reborn from ashes as Firefox in an epic tale of the browser wars.

For those of you who doesn’t know, the history of Netscape Navigator and the browser versions.

An iPod Application you can’t Live Without

A lot has been written about iTunes replacements that lets you manage your iPod without being a slave to Apple. Good examples can be found here, here and here. While all the applications add value by supporting a multitude of features, it can be a bit confusing checking each application out for its strength and weaknesses. Worst of all, some of the applications don’t seem to have support for the latest iPods and can do more harm than good. Fortunately, there is ONE application, that can be truly hailed as a complete and total replacement for iTunes+QuickTime combo. Its comes with the unusual name of Floola.

Floola is an all in all solution that let’s you manage and sync your iPod with no hassle. It includes support for playlists, album artwork, lyrics and loads of other handy features, like playing songs directly from your iPod when its charging. Its so cool that it actually includes built in support for converting videos to your iPod (for the geeks out there, using FFMpeg), so you won’t need a separate video converter application*

Best of all, it runs under Windows, Mac and Linux and comes as a stand alone binary, which means you can carry Floola along with your iPod. Now that’s cool Enjoy!

*If you still insist for a separate video converter application, Videora looks like a good free iPod video conversion application under Windows.

Buying Your First DSLR? Here’s a Simple Checklist (work in progress)

Recently I bought a Nikon D40, after researching for what it now seems forever! I believe that I won’t be the only one, who spent countless hours looking at the specs, reading posts in DPReview, reading even more posts, getting confused by the flame wars, abandoning the research and then finally on a fateful day, a year after wanting to buy a Fuji F30*, ended up buying a full fledged DSLR. Yes, I still sometimes contemplate on “what if I bought the Pentax K100D?” and don’t even get me started on not waiting for the D40x… Ohh well!

The one thing I totally missed out when I bought the D40 was that buying a DSLR isn’t as simple as buying a compact, it requires you to do homework beyond just the quality of image, usability and price (the never ending trade-off). There’s also the additional equipment and kit that you’ll need to purchase, it just doesn’t end with you buying the camera and the lens. So, here’s a list of what I think is additional must buy, if you are on your way to pick up your shiney new DSLR.

1. A good and fast memory card: That would be the first thing on any serious DSLR user’s checklist. Its always tempting to use the memory card that might come with the DSLR deal, which will always almost be gauranteed to be a run off the mill card or pickup one that’s cheap. However, what you don’t want is a card that might easily break down, loosing you your precious moments because you couldn’t be bothered to spend $15 more!Why am I insisting on a fast memory card? Well from first hand experience and experiences of other people, a fast memory card is essential if you are taking picture in busrt mode. The camera buffer for burst shots can quickly fill up and if you have a slow card, writing the buffer to the card will be obviously delayed and you end up missing that one shot that you so desparately wanted!How do you know its a good card? Well as a rule of thumb, the card will usually have a lifetime warranty from the manufacturer and a read/write speed of at least 15 Mb/second.
2. A good carrying bag/pack: No, your back pack will not do (I bet I’m going to create some controversy with this!). I did the same and now I’ve got dust on my sensor. Not to mention that, a DSLR needs extra support and cushioning. And in the future, who knows, you might just decide to pick up another lens and you’ll need carrying space for it too! Now a day, there’s a lot of choice when it comes to camera bags, from trendy Crumplers (I have my eyes on the Pretty Boy M) to tried and tested brands like Lowepro and Tamrac.
3. A Blower: Dust is a major issue with any DSLR. Heaps have been written on how to avoid dust and clean your DSLR sensor. However, there’s one common agreement, using a good blower to blow out dust from the sensor seems to be the first step for getting rid of those pesky dust particles. The first step in a dust free sensor begins with buying a DSLR with no dust on the sensor in the first place!