Windows 7 service has eaten half of my SSD drive

After a year with my lovely and powerful Windows 7 install, my 55G SSD drive started running out of disk space...

Browsing a little for solutions helped reclaiming some space:

1. from shadow storage
2. then restore points

But only after I have tried WinDirStat, I have managed to nail it.

Improving coding practices

I am in process of taking a deep breath after releasing quite a complex piece of software. And while recovering from overdue missed and unread news I came across this article entitled "Comments == Code smell", which struck accord with me...

Is Fring a new Skype?

It will be a couple of months since I became the proud owner of an iPhone. I am really happy to be able to check my email on the move, read news and navigate around town using features of my new gadget. One of the things missing would be IM support...

New broadband provider test

It is an easy way to make me happy. Same line, same default speed but new ISP. The bytes fly again.

Joining friends on FriendFeed

Thanks for the invite! KBac has become available on the FriendFeed network. Well done to its team - but where is the LiveSpaces support? Well, I need to admit it is a very nice way of collating your network activity with the activity of your fiends, anyway.

My gadgets use PicLens

I have added PicLens to my gadgets site 3 weeks ago. But my busy schedule did not help with putting this piece of information on the blog...

There were many publications on PicLens. What strikes me is, the neat UI implementation. Similar paradigm is used already in iPhone presenting photo content on the fly over wall of items.

NB: To make it work you need to install plugin for your browser and you are ready to go. Check it out as it looks pretty cool

SOA vs OOAD

Quite long time ago it has struck me that the new mantra: Service Oriented Architecture and well established Object Oriented Analysis shared many traits. Both practises as well as many other design techniques flourish on commonality extraction and reuse but there is more to it, as usual...

The question to answer is: Why to have SOA as a new term to allow us talking about the componentization of the software? There is a very good article on SOA Magazine discussing just that. It highlights the commonalities and differences in both approaches. In precise manner shows the fact that SOA expands OOAD by raising it up a layer of abstraction and encapsulation. Therefore this paradigm has the capacity to clearly address touch points between the business and the application of the technology. Capturing business benefits, as defined by OOAD at technological low level and transferring them up for better visibility and to complement other factors at the enterprise level.

My Skype plugin is publicly listed

When, I was experimenting with Skype, I have committed this little plugin, which is responsible for indicating to others that you are in a call. The plugin has just got qualified to be enlisted on the official Skype site. Take a look.

Commodisation of mobile services

Now, six weeks before Xmass, we being bombarded with new exciting offers dealing with new mobile devices and development platforms...

First is Skype to announce its Skype phone. Well, I have been using Skype for some time now and indeed it is a robust free, video enabled, VOIP application. But I am not sure, what is the benefit of owning the prebuild Skype phone. As it is possible to have the Skype application installed on any phone which has fast enough internet connection and runs Windows CE OS. Anybody?

Then the Jesus phone - as this is how the iPhone has been named in blogsphere. It always makes people go WOW and ask to keep it touch it etc. I have to admit, like the user experience on offer there. The large touch screen is very well integrated with the applications, what is not the case for other platforms unfortunately. There is a problem though. The phone is expensive, locked to the provider networks and does not give much out to the developers; apparently for sake of stability and security...

And the latest is the Android, which has just published its SDKs and made it available for download. The whole idea is to open up the mobile OS platform to the developers community. There are no Android powered phones on the market at the moment, but prototype preview looks very promising. Android is being build upon Linux kernel, comes with several applications like web browser based which is a fork of Safari. Its architecture aims at componentization and mashups allowing merging 2D and 3D graphics. There is even a draw published to help with incubating new applications...

Thankfully to software developers, it seems there is more and more opportunities to build distributed software services, which can be seamlessly integrated on closer and closer to hand and more powerful devices. BTW: Should we find a new name for those new mobile devices as they are not only just phones but music and video players, cameras, navigation units etc...?

Magazine Digital Era

It has been a long time since I have started using Google Reader. It is really great and with Gears enabled, I am able to download all posts and read them off-line. Now when publishers open up, it allows not only to keep track on the news but also to gain access to my magazines...

Till now I have subscribed to hard copies of:

1. MSDN Magazine
2. Dr Dobbs
3. Architecture Journal
4. C++ Journal[only digital].

But since they all have gone digital, I have not renewed my subscription and started reading the articles over internet off my laptop's screen. I know, it is not the same as hard copy. It can be printed out, though ;) . Well, I am decided. Trying to do my bit to save the planet.

In case you find the RSS form a bit too rough - check this cool article by Digital Inspiration showing the way we are going.

I wonder if what are your favourite tech magazines, guys?

How is your broadband performing?

It has taken ages, but finally got my broadband reconnected. So the first thing was to test its performance.



Unfortunately it is not performing as blazing fast as yours, Dave ;)

BTW: Ain't those Flex analytics implemented by the SpeedTest pretty?

Supr Glued Me

I have recently come across SuprGlue internet service. It allows aggregating your RSS feeds from around the web. It is real fun and good idea to see your whole distributed web activities within single service. It is like blog of blogs.

Come on check super glued KBac

Setting up the blog

Publish what you read.

As a happy user of Google Reader, reading its blog, I have come across article telling that it is now possible to integrate shared feeds with BLOGSPOT

Expand your post summaries.

Another thing I wanted to do on my BLOG is to be able to get the posts to become expandable. This help article described, how to do it. But since I am using non-standard template, I needed to change code managing blog entry. Because the one suggested, did not work. Here is the changed code:

<b:if cond='data:blog.pageType != "item"'><br />
<a expr:href='data:post.url'>Read more...</a>
</b:if>

Adding RSS icon

I have spent some time trying to add simple feed icon to the bottom of the BLOG. The BLOGSPOT help was great, but yet again suggestions did not help me - because of custom template in use. Firebug came to the rescue though. I was able to inspect the page to locate relevant DIV entry and then add the icon as required.

Other hints on BLOG setup.

Hackospere, Widgetry, Categories

The Beginnings...

Many people have their BLOGS and I have to admit, there is plenty of great ideas surfacing this way. I was always concerned that I will not have enough time nor ideas to keep up and keep posting. But hey, if I will not try - I will never know, right?

Forgive me therefore erratic style and low frequency of my posts. My primary intention here is to experiment. Note information about things, which struck me. And let my ideas be challenged, so my alter ego does not grow too big. I hope for your comments, which could help make all of this happen.

This way I have done it and made my first late baby step in the BLOG space - BE WARNED