code/book 1.0: Dashwar

In an effort to fill the void that my blog has become, I've decided to actively seek out topics for exposition, not so much to express my opinions, but to sort of cogitate by exposure, exploring my thoughts by revealing them to the public. Since I do little else in my free time than code and game, I guess it follows that I'd want to ruminate on one of those two subjects.

As such, I've decided to take a stab at chronicling my attempts at programming. Maybe articulating my experiences will help reveal solutions to persisting problems. Perhaps reader comments on my endeavors will help to motivate me in completing my projects. I don't know; I just want to put this Blogger account to use for a change.

So here it is.

code/book 1.0: Dashwar

Whenever I get the chance (and whenever my turn is up), I like to get in a few rounds of Weewar with friends. The problem is, I've yet to find a way to efficiently keep me informed of my martial obligations. pyWeeStatus freezes up on occasion, and I've yet to get WeeHQ to work for me. Now, I'm sure a quick email correspondence between me and one of the developers of these utilities would fix the problem, but that's just too easy.

With the release of Dashcode, I've been meaning to try my hand at making a widget. I've done web development before, but very little of it involved JavaScript. Learning a new language seemed a bit daunting, but somewhat necessary, what will the advent of AJAX and all.

Taking my need for a notification system for Weewar and my desire for a little JavaScript education, I've decided to make Dashwar, a Weewar Dashboard widget. As it stands, I have a few expectation for the final product.

• Show Games Needing Your Attention - This is, of course, my main goal. At the very least, I have to see which games are waiting on me.


• Show Game Details - If a games is not wanting on me, it would be nice to see who the game is waiting on (so I can yell at them), as well as who's playing and who's been knocked out in my absence.


• Growl Notifications - I've been meaning to learn about using Growl, and this seems like a good project to test the waters with. After all, activating Dashboard takes some forethought. I'd like the computer to tell me to play without being asked.

Hopefully this is the start of something interesting. At the very least, I'll get a few posts out of it.

The Walking Dead

My computer is dying. Expect even fewer posts.

On the iPhone

Now that I've had some time to let the news of Apple's new product set in, I can write about it rationally.

Well, at least I can do it without drooling over myself.

Before the Keynote: Wasn't interested. Everything I'd heard about the rumored iPhone led me to believe that this would not be a device I'd be interested in.

During the Keynote: Wow. Oh god. Oh god. Oh god.

After the Keynote: It's a wonder what a few days away from the Distortion Field can do to your outlook. I still think it's an awesome device, but it isn't as great as it could be. I would love to get one, but I don't think I'll be buying it right off the bat for a couple of reasons:

• 8 GB of Memory - If the iPhone is going to replace my iPod as well as my phone, I need at least 30GB. The reason I enjoy the iPod so much is because it has enough storage space to carry my complete music collection. 8GB is a lot of space for such a small device, but it's just not enough, especially if my songs have to share real estate with my contact and calendar information. Hopefully the iPod will still see a widescreen update.
  
  Or maybe the iPhone's memory will quadruple within the year.


• No Third-Party Applications - It looks like the absence of third-party programs is all but confirmed, which is a shame. The iPhone's closed nature makes it hard for me to see this phone replacing my Treo. As of right now, my Treo acts as a checkbook, a dictionary (kanji and otherwise), an assignment planner and an IM client, as well as a phone and web broswer. It can be pretty buggy, especially when using the Opera browser, but it's definitely a versatile machine. Apple can't hope to make a program for each function that every person wants, and until I can start tinkering with the iPhone to suit my needs, my pocket device count will hold steady at two.
  
  Then again, the iPod was closed…

I can see the memory expanding in new revisions, but I'm a bit afraid that the closed architecture of the iPhone will be a persistent characteristic of the device. I was really hoping this would be the One Device. As it stands, I'm still hoping for a widescreen iPod and Palm OS 6.