InstantSpot.com is open for business!
InstantSpot News, ColdFusion, Marketing, InstantSpot 2.0
You might have noticed, ever since our Version 2.0 release, InstantSpot account creation has only been available for those with a valid invitation code.
Well, that is a thing of the past.
Thanks to all of our testers/users for helping us sort through any bugs encountered along the way. As always, if any issues are encountered please feel free to contact me directly or use the link in the control panel to report problems.
So what are you still doing here??! Go create your 'Spot now!
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Windows and Linux...at the same time!
Linux, Virtualization, Ubuntu
Be prepared ... cool geek stuff ahead.
I think I came across this blog entry on digg, but I can't remember for certain. But wherever the original source, it is awesome.
Long story short, you can run a virtual Windows machine (with vmware server) and connect to it via seamless rdp allowing you to interact with your windows applications right on your linux desktop.
Here is a screenshot example. You can see my Gnome panel at the top of the screen, and the Windows taskbar at the bottom.
While this is cool in a gadgety sort of way, it is also going to be so much nicer for IE browser testing and who knows what else.
Here is a blog post detailing exactly how to get your own symbiosis up and running.
NOTE: in the example below the "\" in his examples were removed for some reason... your launcher should look like this
rdesktop -A -s 'c:\seamlessrdp\seamlessrdpshell.exe c:\windows\explorer.exe' WindowsIpAddressHere -u YOURUSERNAME -p YOURPASSWORD
Installing Vmware Server 1.03 on PCLinuxOS 2007
Linux, VirtualizationRecently I got the bug to try out a different Linux distribution on my laptop. I have been a die-hard Ubuntu user since I made the switch full time (haven't looked back since!), so after trying and failing to install Gentoo (guess I'm not L33T enough for that distro yet) I landed on PCLinuxOS 2007.
Once I got my development environment configured just like I like it, it was time to install a Windows VM so I can run some applications that I need at my day job (IE6,IE7, Flexbuilder, etc). For this purpose, I elected to use Vmware Server 1.03 (we already had that tarball downloaded).
When installing, I encountered an installation error that turned out to be somewhat commonplace.
Building the vmmon module. Using 2.6.x kernel build system. make: Entering directory `/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only' make -C /lib/modules/2.6.22.15.tex2/build/include/.. SUBDIRS=$PWD SRCROOT=$PWD/. modules make[1]: Entering directory `/usr/src/linux-2.6.22.15.tex2' CC [M] /tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/linux/driver.o In file included from /tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/linux/driver.c:80: /tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/./include/compat_kernel.h:21: error: expected declaration specifiers or ... before compat_exit /tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/./include/compat_kernel.h:21: error: expected declaration specifiers or ... before exit_code /tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/./include/compat_kernel.h:21: warning: type defaults to int in declaration of _syscall1 make[2]: *** [/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/linux/driver.o] Error 1 make[1]: *** [_module_/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only] Error 2 make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-2.6.22.15.tex2' make: *** [vmmon.ko] Error 2 make: Leaving directory `/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only' Unable to build the vmmon module.
To get past this error, a quick Google search turned up a patch called the "vmware-any-any-update" that needed to be run. (get that here).
Ok, so that fixed the first error but then I ran into this...
Building the vmmon module. Building for VMware Server 1.0.0. Using 2.6.x kernel build system. make: Entering directory `/tmp/vmware-config1/vmmon-only' make -C /lib/modules/2.6.22.15.tex2/build/include/.. SUBDIRS=$PWD SRCROOT=$PWD/. modules make[1]: Entering directory `/usr/src/linux-2.6.22.15.tex2' CC [M] /tmp/vmware-config1/vmmon-only/linux/driver.o CC [M] /tmp/vmware-config1/vmmon-only/linux/driverLog.o CC [M] /tmp/vmware-config1/vmmon-only/linux/hostif.o CC [M] /tmp/vmware-config1/vmmon-only/common/comport.o CC [M] /tmp/vmware-config1/vmmon-only/common/cpuid.o CC [M] /tmp/vmware-config1/vmmon-only/common/hash.o CC [M] /tmp/vmware-config1/vmmon-only/common/memtrack.o CC [M] /tmp/vmware-config1/vmmon-only/common/phystrack.o CC [M] /tmp/vmware-config1/vmmon-only/common/task.o gcc: error trying to exec 'cc1plus': execvp: No such file or directory make[2]: *** [/tmp/vmware-config1/vmmon-only/common/task.o] Error 1 make[1]: *** [_module_/tmp/vmware-config1/vmmon-only] Error 2 make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-2.6.22.15.tex2' make: *** [vmmon.ko] Error 2 make: Leaving directory `/tmp/vmware-config1/vmmon-only' Unable to build the vmmon module.
Another quick trip through the Google search told me that I just didn't have g++ installed. The easy way to find this package is to just open Synaptic and do a search for "g++".
Starting VMware services: Virtual machine monitor [ OK ] Virtual ethernet [ OK ] Bridged networking on /dev/vmnet0 [ OK ] Host-only networking on /dev/vmnet1 (background) [ OK ] Host-only networking on /dev/vmnet8 (background) [ OK ] NAT service on /dev/vmnet8 [ OK ] The configuration of VMware Server 1.0.3 build-44356 for Linux for this running kernel completed successfully.
Create a custom pod with Sproutbuilder
ColdFusion, Internet, Technology, InstantSpot 2.0
Sproutbuilder is a new application that recently rolled out in a beta status. Basically it allows you to create widgets in a pretty nice Flex interface.
From their howitworks page:
Building a sprout is easy. Choose from dozens of pre-built templates or start from scratch. Drag-and-drop shapes, text, images, video, and more. Then add components such as slideshows, jukeboxes, and countdown clocks, as well as interactive services such as chat (Meebo), phone (Ribbit), fundraising (ChipIn), and more. Once you’ve got your content in place, use advanced editing and navigation tools to perfect your sprout.
Ultimately you end up with an embed code, like this
<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" width="180" height="171" id="sUAAKe0cDAJqAatXf"><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="align" value="middle" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff" /><param /><param name="movie" value="http://farm.sproutbuilder.com/17661/load/UAAKe0cDAJqAatXf.swf" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="http://farm.sproutbuilder.com/17661/load/UAAKe0cDAJqAatXf.swf" width="180" height="171" wmode="transparent" align="middle" bgcolor="#ffffff" /></object> <img style="visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;" border=0 width=0 height=0 src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/CIMP/Jmx*PTEyMDE3OTA5NTUxMDcmcHQ9MTIwMTc5MDk1NTY5MSZwPTEyMDc*MSZkPTE4MjgyJm49.jpg" />
Now, to add it to your InstantSpot site...gotta tie that in right :)
Log in to the control panel and click on the Widgets section.
Then, once you are there, you can click to add a pod, reorder, deactivate, etc...
Then, on to the end result...go look at your Spot.
My uncle's first shirt.woot.com sale
Internet, MiscellaneousHow cool?! My uncle, Jim, has been creating pieces of art in various forms for as long as I can remember. Lately he has been creating t-shirt designs. Tonight at midnight, his first approved shirt.woot.com design goes on sale.
He has titled this piece Feed The Whale.
Jim describes it as "a kind of Haida and Tlingit
Indian influenced thing"
From what I hear, the shirt will be a creme american apparel shirt.
Very cool, and way to go Jim!
Check out more of Jim's art at his flickr page here.
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Making progress with GIMP
Linux, Web Development, GimpI ran across a tutorial on how to create "Vista" like buttons with GIMP. If you have ever tried to use GIMP to do anything, you know how much different it is than most other graphics editors out there. For the longest time I just thought it was just terrible...but that was before I found some examples on how to use it.
I'm happy to report that by following along with this tutorial (read it here) that I was able to duplicate these buttons. Ok, so GIMP might not be so bad...what else does it do?
I then dug some more and found another cool tutorial on created "old" photos.
Once again...success! I got reallly close on this one, with a pic of my son. In this tutorial (read it here), I realized that there is a whole world of add-ons for GIMP. Some brushes from here were used to create the distressed looking scratches on the image.
For more GIMP Tutorials, you can check out gimp-turorials.net
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