Shedding Some Light

Ran across a crazy sounding article today. Cingular Wireless has won a patent for the use of emoticons on cellular phones? Here is a quote from the article on ConsumerAffairs.com:

The patent applies not only to graphic versions of the ubiquitous smiley/mad face but also to simple text versions.

Cingular says the aim of the patent is to enable the displaying of graphics on its subscribers’ handsets, the patent would also prohibit sending simple text versions via a dedicated or programmable key.

Human beings have been communicating with emoticons for decades. Now all of a sudden a wireless powerhouse here in the USA can patent how one can enter in text and graphical emoticons into their text messages on a phone?

So I hit the United States Patent and Trademark Office Web site to check this out. I could not find the exact patent noted in the article, but I did search and found fourteen patents have been issued for emoticons. Who would have guessed this? Certainly not me.

Guess I better start using them on my blog before someone gets a patent on entering emoticons on blog posts.

Craig Boyd, Doug Hennig, and I (your SednaX administrators) have been interviewed by Andrew MacNeill on the first The FoxShow podcast of 2006.

If you’re interested in helping the Visual FoxPro Community improve Visual FoxPro through SednaX, this interview will give you details on what SednaX is, what it isn’t, and where its headed. The interview discusses the SednaX licensing, how you can submit project proposals, how you can participate in a project, various roles you can play, types of projects anticipated to be included in SednaX, how awareness can be raised, how projects will evolve, and several other SednaX related topics.

You know I am a big fan of The FoxShow. Head over to Andrew’s site and give The FoxShow a listen. You will understand a lot more about SednaX and some of the challenges and benefits of participating in the Fox Community extensions to Visual FoxPro. We live in exciting times.

Just in case you have not heard of SednaX, it is an umbrella code name for add-ons, extensions, and tools developed for Visual FoxPro 9.0 and beyond by volunteers. There is a SednaX site hosted on the GotDotNet site and already has over 400 VFP developers who are interested in creating and participating in the open/shared source products for the Fox Community.

Today Doug Hennig posted our first template for a formal project proposal. It is a simple document so developers can propose projects to be included in SednaX. You can read the official announcement on the SednaX site.

The process is straightforward. Propose a project, community will discuss on the site message board to see if it is viable and something which works in the spirit of SednaX, and something valuable to other Visual FoxPro developers. The administrators will evaluate the proposal and discussion to make a decision whether it will be accepted or not.

There are several really cool sounding ideas posted on the messageboard. We need people to take charge and fill out the proposal so we can get the process moving. We already have one example done for a real project so others will understand what we are looking for in a proposal. The OOP Menus is a popular idea and one we expect to be a successful project so we used it for the example.

The example and templates are in the download section on the site. Looks like people are already finding it and have already downloaded them. Excellent!

We are working on other document templates for the other aspects of a project (like technical specifications, project plans, code reviews, test plans, and more). While some developers might think this sounds a bit more formal than kicking out some code and posting it on a Web site for people to try, we feel strongly that projects will go smoother with a simple framework of software methodology to back them up.

If you are not already registered, please head over to the site and sign up. There is no monetary cost involved, just the time you invest in making the VFP development experience better.

I got together with some geek friends over the weekend and meant to ask them some questions. So instead of emailing them and asking I figure I can get more responses by asking the entire Fox Community.

1) I am considering getting a new cell phone and PocketPC this year. For years I have thought it would be cool to have the integration, but carrying around the PocketPC on my hip is not as comfortable sounding as carrying around a beeper size phone. I know I want the PocketPC to have Wi-Fi wireless so I can browse and do instant messenger type apps. Any recommendations? Any specific brands and models people like? Do you recommend the integration? What features should I be looking on this platform? Has anyone heard any news on things coming down the pike, which might make me wait a bit before deciding? Any accessories you recommend?

2) I am looking for a language translation engine, applet, or Web site. There are a number of non-English writing bloggers who I would like to add to my list, but sadly I am unable to read their language. The only languages I use regularly are English and FoxPro (although one day I hope to “speak” sign language). Does anyone have any recommendations on this? What I would really like to do is copy their text and have it translate the posting so I can read it.

Feel free to post comments here, or if you have some lengthy answers, feel free to email me privately and thanks for your help.

Here is another one of those rules I have learned the hard way:

Never test install your application installer on your development machine.

Why? Many moons ago I did test one of my install packages on my development machine and then promptly tested the uninstaller. Testing the uninstall is not something I find many developers doing because most do not think their clients will uninstall the app or would prefer they never uninstall the app. Well I prefer a clean Add/Remove Program list on my test machine so I always uninstall right after I install just to make sure it works.

So Monday I was writing up some instructions for the latest install I shipped and needed some screen shots for the documentation. I was out of the office when I was writing the steps so I decided to run the install on my development machine. I needed screen shots for the last step (the progress thermometer) and the “you are done screen”. I finished the documentation late Monday night.

The install had a couple of OCX files, which are registered without merge modules (not my favorite way to do things). Do you know what happens when you uninstall an application with OCX files? Well they get unregistered. This is not a big deal unless you use them somewhere else. {g}

Forward to today. I am in a rush. One of my clients needs a new application before Friday. It is a small application and figure I can squeak it out in between the other three projects I am working on this week (which might explain why I have not blogged at all in the last week). So I crank open my friendly Visual FoxExpress Project Wizard to start this new project this evening and I get a crash!

OLE error code 0×80040154: Class not registered.

OK, lets see, what has changed in the last 48 hours? That’s right, Mike and Toni pulled their traditional Friday the 13th release last Friday and I updated last night. Great! So I try to put together the reproducible steps to the crash to help the Feltman’s debug the problem. I reverse out the update and it still crashes. I dig in to the debugger and try to find the code that is troubled. The code is very straightforward and points me to the class and the class library which cannot be instantiated. This is where it really gets interesting.

I fire up the trusty Class Browser to look at the class and see what object is in the class and firing the OLE error. The Class Browser chokes on the same darn error. Uh-oh.

Then it hits me, I violated another cardinal rule of development on Monday and now I have just wasted 45 minutes tracking down a problem that I never should have hit. Stupid me. I could have simply used a VirtualPC session, but I was not near my external hard drive where I have the virtual machines stored.

So I have decided to fine myself for this rule violation, and added this problem into my personnel file so I can include it on my next review.

I hope you can learn from my mistakes. I hope you can avoid this problem and not waste time chasing problems that never should happen in the first place. OK, back to work.

Over the last five days I have received personal messages (other developers I am mentoring) and also seen several posts on FoxForum, ProFox, TechTips, and other sites questions that were simply answered in recent issues of FoxTalk and the Advisor Guide to Visual FoxPro (FoxPro Advisor).

Maybe some developers find it easier to post a question on the favorite site, but think of the knowledge you are missing by not subscribing. Wisdom from fellow developers. Developers struggling with the same day-to-day development you are struggling with. Developers who are more than willing to share their knowledge with anyone willing to read their articles.

Is it the cost? Is it the time to invest in reading? Is it the lack of knowing there are excellent publications to subscribe to for FoxPro content? Is your boss not willing to pay for it?

I can tell you I have subscribed to both mags for more than a decade. Always out of my own pocket. The reason is simple: I invest in my career. I also did not want to share with my co-workers each month when the issues arrived. I want my own set of archives. I read them on my own time. The investment has paid off in a big way.

Both FoxTalk and Advisors Guide to Visual FoxPro have online content. You can download solutions and examples immediately. In one case, the developer was looking for ideas on managing security and Doug Hennig is in the middle of a series on Security Roles and has a Security Manager object in the downloads. For US$79, the developer looking for ideas can get everything he needs to get started with an online subscription. Several other developers were experiencing the “Variable _REPORTOUTPUT is not found” error when the VFP 9 Report applications are not distributed with your application. Uwe Habermann’s article in FoxTalk clearly addresses all the runtime issues Fox developers face with the new reporting engine. Brilliant article.

Make it a belated New Year’s resolution to subscribe to these periodicals if you are not doing so. Save yourself a bundle of time and money by investing US$180. Do it now so you do not have to worry another minute on the excellent reading you are missing. Go ahead, it won’t hurt.

Just got this from a friend at Microsoft:

This is just a short mail to let you know that we have the patch for the WMF exploit available at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms06-001.mspx. As this is rather a nasty exploit, I recommend you download and install this as soon as possible, and spread the word to whomever you come in contact with. I am pasting in the letter from the Security team that describes the vulnerability below.

Sounds like solid advice.

If you are dreaming while you are sleeping and this dream is about sleeping, are you getting twice the rest?

Ever since I have completely given up caffeine I am dreaming more and having stranger dreams during the prolonged sleep I now need.