2005 Year in Review - The good and the bad

2005 was a year of ups and downs. Here are the highlights from my point of view:

• Good - My wife and I bought our first house
  
• Good - I lost over 30 pounds on Jenny Craig
  
• Bad - My best friend Doug found out he has cancer
  
• Good - Microsoft tries to be more like Apple
  
• Good - My 2005 Civic Hybrid gets stellar gas mileage
  
• Good - agámi launches NAS storage product
  
• Good - We switched to Vonage IP phone service
  
• Good - My brother's company, Carcrafter Engineering, gets a graphic and architecture overhaul, thanks to my friend Darryl (architecture code) and me (design)
  
• Good - D&D Dogs, our online virtual pet dog business in Second Life, continues to do quite well in sales.
  
• Good - Google expands portal services
  
• Bad - Microsoft faces $2.4 Million/Day fine
  

Second Life reaches 100,000 residents!

The online virtual world of Second Life announced today that they have reached 100,000 residents. This is a huge milestone for a "game" where there is no monster killing, level grind, or even plot for that matter.

It is a testament to the fact that there is a niche market for a creative outlet where digital artists, programmers, architects, business people, and socialites can gather together to build a virtual world all their own.

For those of you who know me, I have been involved with Second Life since their early beta in 2003. My blog portrait is actually a picture of my avatar in Second Life. It's nice to see SL grow and mature, and here's hoping to an even better 2006!

My new music/technology blog

I noticed that I kept posting here about how technology and music come together, so I decided to start a blog dedicated to the topic. Come see Silicon Music!

What I got for Christmas!

Well, it's Christmas, and that means there's torn wrapping paper all over the floor in the living room, the cats are trying to eat it, and I'm slowly slipping into a chocolate induced coma. Gotta love this holiday!

So what did I get? Well, here's the list!

• Garmin StreetPilot 2720 GPS for my car! Yay!
  
  
• 2006 Monty Python Trivia Calendar - That's even better than.....a shrubbery!
  
  
• $50 gift certificate to ThinkGeek.com - For the geek in me :-)
  
  
• $100 gift card to Target - Gonna go crazy!
  
  
• A Home Depot gift card - Not sure for how much
  
  
• Enough chocolate to make Jenny Craig roll over in her...well...bed.
  

It's been a good Christmas :-)

Self tuning guitar

Engadget reports on the Transperformance System, which allows for a guitar to tune itself. Quickly change your tuning at the touch of a button! Very interesting!

Microsoft faces $2.4 Million/day fine

This is freakin' ridiculous. The European Commission has threatened to fine Microsoft up to $2.4 million a day if it fails to open up Windows to competitors. Microsoft legal chief Brad Smith says "We've shipped a new version of Windows, we've paid a historic fine, and we've provided unprecedented access to Microsoft technology to promote interoperability with other industry players...In total, we have now responded to more than 100 requests from the Commission."

What ever happened to free enterprise? Why should Microsoft have to bow down to the competition just because they got to be so powerful? Screw that! Microsoft owns Windows and they should be able to do whatever the hell they want with it. Period.

Things like this reek of socialism to me. If Microsoft makes it difficult for rivals to compete, then they are doing their job right. That's business. Competitors need to innovate and think outside the box to try to one up Microsoft. Don't go crying to governments saying they aren't playing fair. Makes you look like big cry babies who can't make a better product or can't market a better product properly.

Stop crying, you little pussies. Start competing the right way. Remember, if you can't stand the heat...

Microsoft trying to be more like Apple?

People who know me know that I have an aversion to Apple, and a soft spot for Microsoft. I know, it seems backwards by today's concensus, but Apple has always proven to be an arrogant, elitist company, which rubs me the wrong way.

That being said, I have always acknowledged Apple's talent for user interface design and style. Sure, it pisses me off that I have to say I like something about them, but I have to be honest. Their designs rock...more than Microsoft's.

Well now, that may all change. ZDNet has announced that Microsoft has hired user interface guru Bill Buxton, a designer known for his work in human-machine interfaces. This is an attempt to bring Microsoft up to speed on better usability for their products, and hopefully add an Apple-ish flair for style.

GO BILL (both Gates and Buxton)!

'Second Life' turns attacker in to FBI

The online virtual world of 'Second Life' is so open ended that the entire world is created and programmed by it's digital citizens. This open-endedness can come at a price, though. It is fairly trivial within the world to create a denial of service attack that can bring down the entire grid. The scripting tools to do so are built right into the environment.

But hackers and script-kiddies take note: C|Net reports that Linden Labs, the creators of Second Life, are coming down hard on the attackers...turning them over to the FBI. Second Life citizens are actualy happy about Linden Labs hard stance...it keeps their world up and running if attackers fear the consequences.

Google expands portal services

Yes, Google keeps adding stuff! This time around they added user created content to their homepage portal. Check it out.

Also, they've added Web Clips to Gmail, which is basically customizable RSS feeds that display over your inbox. More ways to get the info you want!

Zubbles! The colored bubbles!

Now this is a good idea! Made with a special dye that actually disappears and doesn't stain, these bubbles are the culmination of 10 years of development.


Now Zubbles are going to take the toy industry by storm. Watch for them soon!

Intel creates a Tablet Telecaster

Yes, Intel has teamed up with Fender to create the world's first Tablet PC/Guitar hybrid. Personally, I wish it wasn't a Telecaster, as I'm not too fond of them. Gimme a Les Paul or Paul Reed Smith any day!

Who's fault is it when someone diesfrom online gaming?

Red Herring reports on a Chinese boy who jumped to his death re-enacting a scene from World of Warcraft, an online role-playing game he was addicted to. The boy's parents are suing the makers of the game, Blizzard Entertainment, for the death of their child.

Worse than that, the Chinese government is looking into how to restrict online game playing time for the entire nation to try to avoid similar incidents. Apparently, gaming addiction is big in China, and this is not the first fatality related to it.

But who is really at fault here? Blizzard? The parents? The boy? I can't say, but I will say that it should NOT be Blizzard. Just because they make a very successful game does not hold them responsible for people who have trouble telling reality from fiction. This law suit should be thrown out of court, in my opinion.

100 Most Often Mispronounced Words and Phrases in English

Very interesting site. How many of these words do YOU mispronounce? Check it out.

Does this mean what I think it means?

I shot this picture with my camera phone when we stopped at a gas station the other night. This sign was hanging over their garage.

Does this seem odd to anyone else?

What crazy holiday falls on your birthday?

Mine is "Run Up the Flagpole and See if Anybody Salutes It Day". What's yours?

History's 10 worst Software Bugs

As a computer programmer, I've seen my fair share of bugs. But none of my bugs have EVER killed anyone! Check out History's 10 Worst Software Bugs as compiled by Wired News.

e-paper coming!

Now this is cool! Imagine opening a magazine and seeing a video play as part of an article. Or having animated instruction manuals.

Gizmag reports that Siemens has developed a printable, low-cost, disposable video display that can be printed on paper, cardboard, plastic, just about anything!

Coming in 2007...Check it out!

Too many cooks? Open Source vs Commercial Part 3

(This is part 3 of my post titled Too many cooks? Open Source vs Commercial Part 1 and Too many cooks? Open Source vs Commercial Part 2)

There's no question that open source vs. commercial debate is interesting, heated, and neverending. I liken this debate to traditional bipartisan government politics. On the left we have the bleeding heart liberals, fighting aganst the man, struggling to make the little guy heard. On the right there's the corporate big-wigs, who support big business and share a laissez faire attitude.

Let's see...which is which? Not too hard to see that open source = left and commercial = right. The interesting part about all this is that almost all the people I talk to out here who are big open source supporters are also left leaning, Starbucks hating, Microsoft bashing, tree huggers.

Now I consider myself independent and non-partisan in my views. I believe in many Democratic ideals, as well as having some strong Republican views. Not to mention some of my Green Party and other leftist viewpoints as well. So you might say I am a political "mutt" with left and right wing leanings.

I like Starbucks, Microsoft, WalMart, Target, and all the other big businesses that have come to signify "the man", as well as Adobe, Windows, Macromedia, and other commercial software. I also like PHP, MySQL, Linux, Apache, and other open source software that I use daily in my career.

So where does that leave me here in Silicon Valley? Basically, nowhere different than anyone else. That's the magic of the Bay Area. Tolerance. Diversity. I have shared my views with many and have very interesting debates, but then continue with what we were doing. It's all good.

Which brings me to my conclusion on this entire topic. Open source vs. Commercial? Simple...it's all good.

The first annual World Usability Day

This is an important topic for everyone who has to deal with end-user products. So, basically, everybody. World Usability Day was created to help everyone know more about the ways to help create a better user experience of our world. Basically, take a user-centric approach to design.

Alternative uses for the bible

Interesting web page. I am not saying I condone these alternate uses for the bible, but I thought it was quite an interesting read!

66.2 MPG today!

Yes, my 19 mile one-way commute today netted me a whopping 66.2 Miles Per Gallon with my 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid! Ok, so I don't drive necessarily "fast". As a matter of fact, I usually drive in the right lane at around 5 MPH under the speed limit, only speeding up when people behind me get close.

But hey, I'm in no hurry. I think this will be my first tank that lasts over 500 miles. And it's only an 11.9 gallon tank, so it really goes a long way.

H.Y.B.R.I.D. - How You Bypass Rising International Dependency

The point of a hybrid is not simply economics, even though it does make a difference. Those of us who buy into the hybrid technology are not necessarily trying to save money on gas. We are buying into the future. We are supporting the research and development of cleaner fuels and less emissions. Maybe the current hybrids aren't perfect, but they will keep getting better. And if no one buys into the technology first, it will never get developed.

So are hybrids a farce? Not the big 3 (Civic, Prius, and Insight). Others are using hybrid technology to increase performance rather than improve efficiency (Accord, Ford SUV, etc). Those may be a "farce" but they still do get slightly better mileage than their regular counterparts (like 1-5MPG better - not much).

As for batteries, yes they may be an issue...but we just don't know right now. They are rated to last the lifetime of the car. All we can do is believe that and hope for the best. But it shouldn't be the reason not to buy into hybrid technology. And I am not overly concerned with resale value as I plan to keep this car as long as I can. It's a Civic. It'll last.

Yes, I paid a premium over the regular Civic ($22k vs. $19k) and I may not see that exact amount returned to me in gas savings...or maybe I will. Only time will tell. But that's not the true reason to jump on the hybrid bandwagon. It's about caring about what our current vehicles are doing to our environment...it's about reducing our dependency on foreign oils...it's about supporting the development of newer cleaner fuel alternatives.

Support change. Support environmentally consciuous technologies. Support Earth.

Why high gas prices don't bother me

I recently bought a 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid, and I couldn't be happier. You may notice at the top of my blog page, there is a banner image that shows my current Miles Per Gallon. This is done through a web site called Greenhybrid.com. Every time I get gasoline, I make a note of how many gallons I put in, and how many miles I drove. Then I enter that info on their site, and this image is automatically generated for me to use as a signature, or anywhere else. It averages all the tanks I enter into the site.

Keep an eye on that number...it is climbing up rapidly! Since I moved to San Jose, my commute to work has increased from 4 miles to 19 miles, mostly highway driving. This has boosted my average round trip MPG from low to mid 40's to upper 50's! Yes, I use more gas daily, but I am using it way more efficiently.

From home to work I now typically get 58-60 miles per gallon. It drops to around 56 by the time I get home, but I can live with that!

Church of Reality recognized by IRS

The IRS has recognized the Church of Reality as a religion. What is the Church of Reality? Here's a quote from their site:

The Church of Reality is a religion based on the practice of Realism, believing in everything that is real. Our motto is, "If it's real, we believe in it." Since no one knows all of reality, the Church of Reality is about the pursuit of reality the way it really is. We commit to being intellectually honest with ourselves and with others so that we can cut through the mythology. We want to know about the way things really are in the real world.

Well, at least it's not a religion based on unknowns and fiction, like many other religions in the world. But it's still a "religion", which to me means it's a man-made organization of like-minded individuals who grasp on to an idea about man's creation/evolution/existence.

Personally, religion is a farce to me. What one person believes about how we got here is his/her business. I am more of an atheist than anything else, and by that I mean I do not believe in any one organized religion that explains why we are here or how we got here. Is there a god? Who knows. I actually hope there is not. I don't bow down or worship anyone or anything but life itself. If anything, I am my own god because I am at the center of my own belief system.

Get LinkedIn!

LinkedIn is a cool site for building your network of colleagues, references, friends, etc. You get linked to their friends, and so on, and so on. Great for job hunting, or keeping track of professionals in your industry!

Les Paul goes digital!

The Gibson Digital Guitar is a genuine Gibson Les Paul, with all of the features and capabilities of a traditional Les Paul, with revolutionary digital technology. Plug in an Ethernet cable and get digital control over each string! Now THIS is the perfect combo for geeky musicians!

Move complete

Well, the move is complete and we are now living out of boxes. Comcast came out and hooked me back up, so I can get online once again.

Our two cats, Artemis and Kramer, were a bit traumatized by the whole experience, but they seem to be settling in now. All in all, it was a very smooth move.

Goodbye, old apartment...

Ah the emptiness!

Truckin'

The movers are here!

8 ball, corner pocket...

Setting up the pool table at the new house.

The move begins...

The pool table gets packed. Priorities! Actually, that's someone else's pool table in the van. The pool table movers are still taking ours apart.

We got it!

Yes, the house is now officially and legally ours! So how much do you think I can get for my left kidney?

UFO sightings mapped by Google Maps

BoingBoing reports on how UFOMaps.com uses Google Maps to map UFO sightings from the National UFO Reporting Center.

agámi Systems press release

Our press release hit the wires this morning, so now it's official! The agámi information servers (AIS) are now available...think storage on steroids! Here's a preview:

AGÁMI SYSTEMS SHIPS INDUSTRY-LEADING 500 MEGABYTE PER SECOND THROUGHPUT PERFORMANCE INFORMATION SERVER WITH ENTERPRISE-CLASS FEATURES AND RELIABILITY FOR UNDER $25,000
GAINS WIDE INDUSTRY ACCEPTANCE

SUNNYVALE, Calif. - October 11, 2005 - agámi Systems Inc., a leading developer of next-generation information server solutions, announced today that shipments have begun of their first in a family of agámi information servers (AIS). The AIS 3000 series represents a major advancement in network attached storage (NAS) and provides customers with tremendous improvements in functionality, increased performance and capacity, and simplified management with dramatically reduced cost of ownership...

[Download PDF of entire press release]

The Closing

Tomorrow, Tuesday, October 11, 2005, is the day my wife and I become first time home owners. It still doesn't seem real, but buying a house in Silicon Valley wasn't as painful as we had originally expected. Of course, it will be difficult living life with one less arm and one less leg.

Electric guitar with FireWire

Gizmodo reports on this intriguing new guitar! For us musicians who love technology and are always looking to combine our two passions, this just may be the ticket!

Datel Launches 4GB Hard Drive for PSP

Gizmodo writes about a very interesting piece of technology for Sony Playstation Portable users (of which I am one). How about a 4GB hard drive AND battery pack? Sweet!

"Name that metaverse"

Second Life is getting some serious press, this time on C|Net's news.com. Just passing it along!

Google RSS Reader in Beta!

Yes, the ubiquitous web whores known as Google have done it again! This time with an interesting web-based news/RSS feed reader. Is there anything these guys won't tackle?

Check it out...and by the way, the URL for this blog's RSS feed is http://ecaggiani.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Too many cooks? Open Source vs Commercial Part 2

(This is part 2 of my post titled Too many cooks? Open Source vs Commercial Part 1)

So why do most Silicon Valley people hate Microsoft? I mean, the vast majority of all home computers in the world are running some version of Windows. So they must be doing something right...right?

As I have come to find out, big business is a good thing...until it gets TOO big. At least that's what people here seem to be telling me. Too much power in too few hands is a dangerous thing. Monopoly bad. Competition good. Microsoft bad. Anyone competing with Microsoft good.

There may be some truth to these statements. But it seems to be more of a religious argument than anything else. Why else would people have used Netscape 4 (worst browser EVER) instead of Internet Explorer 4? The bottom line is that there will always be die hards in both camps.

In any case, the open source movement is spurred on by the likes of Microsoft. Passionate people looking for alternatives go against commercial conventions and release basically FREE software worked on by other like-minded programmers all pulling together for the same cause. Sounds good! And in some cases, it is good. But in other cases, it can truly be a mess.

I use many tools in my job...many are open source, many are commercial

Use the best tool for the job. That's easy to say, a lot harder to do. In many cases, the best tool may be a ridiculously expensive piece of software that only corporations can afford to purchase. I've seriously seen software aimed at the corporate world sell for tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Enter the open source alternatives. You may be lacking a few features, or installations may be awkward or cumbersome, but heck, it's free!

So why not opt for the alternative every time? Support, for one. Many open source programs don't offer professional support. Sure, there are plenty of online discussion forums that can provide help, but that's never a guarantee. Also, with open source, since there is no true governing body except the programmers that write the software, there is no guarantee that the product will keep getting updated at all. The programmers could all decide they are bored with the project, and you're up the proverbial creek.

..........TO BE CONTINUED...........

So I'm not witty enough?

I just talked to my brother. I asked if he had been reading this blog. He said yeah, and that he is still waiting for my wit to kick in. To that, I say...



I got your wit right here!

Phone picture #1

My new favorite drink!

Everything should be this easy

Got home, plugged it all in, and it works. Couldn't have been easier. So far, Vonage gets a big thumbs up

Vonage comes through!

I just received the package from Vonage. What service! I ordered it yesterday, and it's here today...all the way from Ohio. :-)

Too many cooks? Open Source vs Commercial Part 1

Is open source software better than commercial software?
This is a topic that interests me for several reasons.

• I use many tools in my job...many are open source, many are commercial
  
• I find the politics of it very interesting
  
• It's easy to argue both sides
  
• Silicon Valley's general leanings toward open source is surprising

First, some perspective. I grew up on the East Coast and used computers as a hobby. I never studied computer science or engineering. In fact, my degree is in Communications (Television/Film production to be precise).

In the early '90's, when the Internet started really becoming mainstream, I decided to make computers my career. The TV industry was just not as fun as I had expected, nor as glamorous as it sounds.

So in 1996, me and my then fiancée Kris moved out to California when 3Com offered me a position as their intranet webmaster. This was exciting and scary because I felt like I was going to go play with the big boys of the computer industry in Silicon Valley! And I was totally a self-taught hobbyist surrounded by not very tech savvy people in South Florida.

My whole idea about what California was all about was way off. First, it's not all like LA. Second, Northern California was very diverse and buzzing with techies looking for that next big thing. And finally, everyone I met hated Microsoft!

WHAT??? Am I in the right place? Isn't this supposed to be the technology center of the country, if not the world, and all I hear is disdain for Microsoft? How can that be? I loved MS. Hmmm...maybe these techies know something I don't.

..........TO BE CONTINUED...........

New "social" browser coming

Intriguing, if nothing else. A new browser is coming out that supposedly integrates many popular social web activities, like blogging, picture sharing, collaboration, etc. Something to keep an eye on, anyway. http://www.flock.com

Press '1' for great customer service

I called Vonage. I told them I was stupid. I told them I put in the wrong address for shipping and that the package never arrived and I wasn't sure if I could track it down. They did the best thing they could have done. They OVERNIGHTED me another one to the correct address...FREE!

Well, they said they had to charge me $99 ($89 for the device, $9.95 for shipping), but that they would FIRST credit my account $99, THEN charge me $99. That's...let's see...add this...carry the one...ummm...FREE!

Needless to say I was a bit shocked. It's not every day you get good customer service. I would have considered it good customer service if they still had to charge me for the shipping...I mean it was my own stupid fault in the first place!

But nooooooooo! They had to go and pull a fast one on me and go the extra mile. Sons of bitches...just when I was ready to stop believing. Just when I was going to throw in the towel and become a tree-hugging, commerce-hating, Jamba Juice-drinking, pinko bastard, they had to go and turn it all around.

Dialtone to my heart
I love her. That lovely voice that said "Don't worry, we'll credit you first...". The melodic tone of "So we're shipping to Sunnyvale, right?". The sweet, beautiful way her breath whispered to my very soul, "Have a nice day!"

Oh wonderous Ms. Vonage, how you've made my heart go pitter-pat. I will cherish our brief, yet exhilirating affair. Our voices meeting in the dark corridors of electric null space...blind, yet more alive than a fast busy signal!

Of course, if this package arrives late, it's all over, bitch.

Stupid thing I did #1

I guess it's all the excitement of moving that has my brain wrapped in bubble wrap and packed with styrofoam peanuts. As you know, I ordered the Vonage phone service, and they shipped out the device that hooks up to my network. It still hasn't gotten here, and my phone number has already been transferred.

So I tried tracking the package and it says it's at the Fremont post office. Hmmmm. Fremont. I thought I had it shipped to my office in Sunnyvale...not something the Fremont post office would normally handle.

Well, it turns out that I had my shipping address in my Vonage account setup to my OLD office address in San Jose, which is a bit closer to the Fremont post office. Ugggh! Now I have to try to track it down. Amazing it took me this long to figure out I had the wrong address considering I've been tracking the package for days.

Quest for the Holy PHP Editor 2: The Decision

This is a follow up to my previous post on trying to find the best PHP code editor.

I think I've made my decision. It's ActiveState's Komodo. I love it. Does almost everything I need an editor to do. It works with the two source code control systems I need (Perforce and Subversion), has code folding, macros, code completion, project management, yadda yadda yadda...

Now to see if my company will buy me a full license!

LindeX in beta...trading resumes!

Previously, I had posted on the closing of the online game currency trading website Gaming Open Market. Well, just as they closed, Linden Labs, the makers of Second Life, opened a public beta of their currency trading mechanism called LindeX (for Linden eXchange, in case you missed the subtle and clever naming scheme).

How does it differ from GOM? Is it better? Worse? Too early to tell right now, but suffice it to say I have been trading successfuly on LindeX for the last couple of days and all seems to work well so far!

Moving on up!

We actually did what we thought we'd never be able to do in Silicon Valley...we bought a house! Well, it's a townhouse. Actually, it's "legally" a condo, but in the tradition of legalese, we will refer to said condo as "the new house".

The new house is great! It's in San Jose, near the border of Los Gatos. It is 1500 square feet, has a large patio, and a huge garage. The kitchen has been completely redone with new cabinets and hardwood floors. It's a two story house, with 2 master suites and 2.5 baths.

Our cats will have to learn how to use the stairs! Maybe this is the kind of exercise they need to go from Garfield to Sylvester ;-) Anyway, we're excited to move in! We'll finally have a decent place for the pool table!

The cool thing #1: We found this house the first time out looking for houses, put an offer on it the next day, and got accepted that same day! Talk about FAST!

The cool thing #2: Even though the price of this house is absurd compared to almost anywhere else in the US, it was by far the least expensive house we saw that day, and the one that had the most to offer.

The cool thing #3: Moving is what caused me to look at Vonage since we needed to cancel our existing phone service anyway...and we got to keep our number! (See post below)

All in all, this is an exhilirating, and sometimes scary, time. Our first house! I'll keep you posted as things progress...

Vonage...the cool thing

Yes, I finally did it and signed up for Vonage. What is it? Well, it lets me use my Internet connection as my phone, using any standard telephone. This is not your typical PC-to-PC voice over IP system. This actually gives you an honest to goodness telephone number that you can receive calls on from any regular phone. And you can also make calls to anywhere as well, just like a regular phone. The only difference is that it bypasses your friendly neighborhood telephone company and uses your friendly neighborhood ISP instead!

The cool thing #1:
It's cheaper. We signed up for the $14.99/month plan (half of what we were paying to SBC) and get 500 minutes/month (WAY more than we'll ever use). Long distance fees are a thing of the past. And Vonage-to-Vonage calls are free.

The cool thing #2:
We got to keep our existing phone number! We are moving from Sunnyvale to San Jose, and we will keep the same phone number we've had for almost 10 years :-)

The cool thing #3:
It's high-tech :-) For someone who loves technology and gadgets, this is a must have.

The cool thing #4:
This is probably THE COOLEST thing of all...we can get our voicemail delivered to us in an email as a .WAV attachment! Or we can login to our Vonage website and see/hear all our messages online, including seeing the caller ID, time logs, etc. All calls in and out get logged. Very cool!

agámi launches!

Yesterday, the company I work for, agámi Systems, launched its first network attached storage appliance! After two years in the making, we are all very proud of what we have accomplished. Exciting times ahead!

Life is not always fair...

My friend Doug recently found out that he has cancer. View his blog about it here.

Gaming Open Market Closes!

So Gaming Open Market is closing this Sunday :-( What is GOM? Well it's a website that trades virtual game money for real US currency. Specifically, they dealt with Second Life currency, called Lindens.

Second Life is a 3D virtual world created by its citizens, where your avatar is free to build, create, script, sell, socialize, play, dance, explore, etc. I have been a part of SL since its BETA period in 2002. My friend Darryl and I have built a pretty successful in-game business selling scripted pet dogs in Second Life.

We traded our Lindens for cash on GOM, but that will no longer be possible come Sunday. Linden Labs, creators of Second Life, say they are building their own currency exchange. Let's hope it works well!

Komodo and Subversion

Yay! I got Komodo and Subversion to play nice! :-)

Quest for the Holy PHP Editor

In my never ending quest to find the best PHP editor, or code editor in general, I have downloaded numerous trials and demos. I was using Zend Studio for a bit, and really liked the feature set, but found it a bit slow due to the fact that it's written in Java.

Now I am testing two other editors, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.

• ActiveState Komodo - So far top of my list! Includes the following features:
  


• Code folding
• Key binding
• Code insight
• Source Control integration (Perforce, CVS, Subversion)
• Code completion
• Project management
• Brace matching
• PHP Debugging
• Syntax checking
• Syntax highlighting
• Auto indent
• Indentation guides
• Tab grouping
• ...much more
  
• SlickEdit
  


• Code folding
• Key binding
• Code insight
• Source Control integration (Perforce, CVS, Subversion)
• Code completion
• Project management
• Brace matching
• Syntax checking
• Syntax highlighting
• Auto indent
• Tab grouping
• Excellent visual diff tool
• ...TONS more...
  

So I am liking Komodo way better now because it has a much cleaner user interface, and is more targetted to PHP and web development than SlickEdit. SlickEdit is heavily C/C++ focused.

SlickEdit does seem to have WAY more features, but it takes a rocket scientist to figure out how to use it all and set it all up. But I do have the feeling that if I took the time to set it up exactly how I wanted, that it could become the "do all" editor I need. It's a daunting task, however.

Komodo, on the other hand, has a very friendly interface and is very simple to configure to your liking. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get Komodo's Subversion integration to work on Windows, but I did manage to get it to work in SlickEdit. Komodo's Perforce integration works very well, however.

I'll keep messing around...who knows, maybe I'll find ANOTHER editor to play with!

Cool site: SnipURL!

Well I just found out about a cool site that turns any long URL into something short, and it's free! It's called SnipURL. Check it out!

Life in the Valley

Welcome to my blog! What is this about? Well, it's just my musings as a Silicon Valley techie, my life out here, cool things I find online, etc. Nothing Earth shattering, but basically a good way to get my thoughts down. A "diary" for the new millenium, if you will.

DISCLAIMER: I do not guarantee that anything seen here is in the least bit interesting to anyone but myself...and sometimes I can't even guarantee that! :)