Bob's World

Tablet PCs - And the Winner IS... Apple (For Now)

2011-12-13T09:33:00.000-08:00

There was a pretty interesting article in DigiTimes that said that most of the major hardware manufacturers were going to throw in the towel in terms of the tablet PC market, and instead focus on "ultrabooks" (not "netbooks" like they did 2 years ago). Hmmmm.... If you don't know what an "ultrabook" is here's a video that explains it. Basically, think of the MacBook Air. It's a thin notebook

Big Brother IS Watching You - Via Your Smartphone (UPDATED)

2011-12-02T08:28:00.001-08:00

WARNING: If you're the paranoid type - take a pill or stop reading here - because this information will put you into a spin. OK - disclaimer out of the way. I'll start with the bottom line: If you're using a non-Nokia Android device on AT&T or Sprint (not Verizon), or you're using a Blackberry - your phone could be recording and sending absolutely everything you do on your phone from web

Life In The Fast Lane

2011-12-01T09:05:00.000-08:00

I recently returned from a road trip through Colorado, Utah and Nevada - and besides having a most excellent experience on part of the I-15 in Utah with an 80 mph speed limit - I noticed something fundamentally cool about drivers in other states: 1. They know how to drive (for the most part) 2. They stick to the slow lane except for passing (it's law in Colorado!) 3. Their states realize that

What IS a "PC" Anyway?

2011-11-22T07:12:00.001-08:00

I've been thinking about PCs lately (as in "Personal Computers" not "Politically Correct"). When us old timers think of a "PC" we generally think of that first IBM PC or the Apple II - with the glowing green screen, and a hip, cool user interface called DOS. I bet if you asked my kids what "PC" means - they would say "Politically Correct" (hopefully). To them, there is no concept of a "

Stop The Censorship - SOPA = CRAPA!

2011-11-16T09:41:00.001-08:00

If you haven't heard of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) - then listen up, people! It's basically a bill (you can read it for yourself here) that allows any intellectual property holder to shut down any website's online advertising and block credit card payments - all without the need for that whole "due process of law" thingie getting in the way. It works sort of like the Digital Millennium

Ding Dong Flash Is (Finally!) Dying

2011-11-09T07:31:00.000-08:00

Adobe made a couple of interesting announcements today: They are killing off future development of Mobile Flash in favor of HTML5 Their acquisition of Nitobi (the guys that made the open source PhoneGap) closed today Ummmmm... what? Yeah, well, as it turns out - it seems that Adobe has finally figured out that it's bloatware, 1990's, proprietary, resource-hogging, memory-leaking,

How To Write A Resume That Doesn't Suck [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-11-08T08:10:00.000-08:00

For those of my friends and collegues who are (still) looking for work - I came across this infographic and posted it in the hopes that every little it will help! SOURCE

All You Need Is Love - Love Is All You Need

2011-11-04T06:42:00.000-07:00

I saw this comic this morning - and it really is sort of a snapshot of life: Although, I must say, that I didn't really care about panel 4 (a place to live) until I got married. Before that, it was "whatever". You can stay with friends, crash on a couch, stay out all night... you know - "whatever." Panel 5 didn't really kick in until the kids were born - and then you have to sort of

Halloween - By The Numbers [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-10-31T06:51:00.000-07:00

SOURCE

A Visual Guide To Facebook Security [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-10-28T09:11:00.000-07:00

There has been a LOT of press about Facebook security - both good and bad. If you've ever wondered what really goes on behind the scenes - then check out this infographic by the good folks at PC Magazine:

How To Avoid Abandoned Shopping Carts [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-10-26T06:56:00.000-07:00

If you have any kind of online commerce site - you know the problem - abandoned shopping carts. This is really a bummer since you've managed to get people to your site, presented something they are interested in, written your copy and done your photography in such a way as to convince them to hit the "Add To Cart" button - and then, just when they're ready to checkout - they get distracted, or

By The Number - Facebook [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-10-24T06:56:00.000-07:00

Feeling a little "Facebook-ed out"? Well, no wonder! You've probably spending waaayyyy too much time on there (along with everyone else): SOURCE

Roles In IT [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-10-20T06:26:00.000-07:00

If you work in IT in whatever capacity - you inevitably have to work with others who are also in IT. Depending on your role - getting along with others can sometimes be a "challenge." Here's a great graphic on how people in different roles see others in different roles: SOURCE

Goodbye Bookstores - Hello... book "stores"

2011-10-19T08:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to a strip mall that used to have a Borders bookstore in it. It was sort of sad - I had frequented it more than a few times - just browsing the latest releases, looking over the titles in the technology "section", maybe taking one or two volumes back to a reading table with a cup of coffee... Ah, yes - the "good old days." As I was reading the Google blog - they had a short

Wordstream On Facebook's Epic FAILS [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-10-18T06:04:00.000-07:00

Seems that the good folks over at Wordstream are a little pissed off at Facebook... so, what better than to create a huge infographic taking their complaints to the masses? Yeah, let me get some popcorn, this is gonna' be fun: SOURCE

Moving To OS X Lion - The Way OS Upgrades SHOULD Be

2011-10-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

With the release of OS X 10.7.2 (aka "Lion") - I decided it was time to make the jump from Snow Leopard (aka 10.6.x) to the new OS. Now, I'm not a huge fan of major updates to any operating system. I dreaded going from Windows XP to Windows 7, and although it was less painful jumping from Leopard (10.5) to Snow Leopard - I still had to update a bunch of applications so they would work

Servoy TIP: Next Work Day Function

2011-10-13T07:08:00.000-07:00

I needed a simple function that would return the next working day (Monday - Friday) from the date that was passed in. So here it is - it's simple, but it works: function getNextWorkDay(myDate){ var dow = myDate.getDay(); var daysToAdd = 1; //remember JS days start at 0! if(dow >= 5 ) { daysToAdd = 8 - dow; } return new Date(myDate.getFullYear(), myDate.getMonth(),

FileMaker TIP: Next Work Day

2011-10-13T07:03:00.000-07:00

I needed a function to find the next work day (excluding weekends). I came up with a pretty simple function that I like to call "NextWorkDay" - it takes any date as the parameter (theDate). You can use this as a function, or as a calculation (just replace "theDate" below with the field name). Let ( [ dow = DayOfWeek ( theDate ); daysToAdd = Case ( dow >= 6; 9 - dow; 1)] ;Date ( Month (

Unabashed Apple Fanboy Post [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-10-12T06:34:00.000-07:00

SOURCE

Java Still The #1 Programming Language - Barely

2011-10-11T07:09:00.000-07:00

According to the October 2011 TIOBE Programming Community Index - Java is still the #1 programming language out there - even though it slipped 1% from September. Hot on its heels is the old standby C. Java has been the top language for over 10 years (except a few months were C took over). This makes total sense. The thing that really surprised me was the fact that Objective-C (the language used

When 1 Terabyte Just Isn't Enough [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-10-10T06:49:00.000-07:00

So I got a message the other day that my 1 terabyte drive that I use for automated backups was almost full. Yeah, my 1 TERABYTE hard drive! What the??? I remember buying a 20 MEGAbyte hard drive and just shaking my head - knowing that surely I would NEVER fill that thing up in a lifetime. DOH! Here's a cool infographic about the history of storage: SOURCE

Apple, Samsung - Knock It Off!

2011-10-05T06:48:00.000-07:00

If you have kids - you are well-versed in this quotation: "You kids stop fighting - don't make me pull over." Well, at least I am. There's nothing more annoying than two kids (any age) who are picking on each other. One says "Don't touch me", and the other one has their finger about 1/8 of an inch (15mm for my metric friends) away from the other one protesting: "I'm NOT touching you!" "Yes

Patent Trolls Are Screwing Up Everything [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-10-04T06:42:00.000-07:00

Now, don't get me wrong - I firmly believe that inventors of cool stuff should get paid for their inventions. I also firmly believe that patents are a good thing - provided they are used for truly novel inventions. I don't, however, believe that a "process" should be able to be patented. OK, well maybe some processes - like Pasteurization - or the vulcanization of rubber - or the algorithm used

How Social Media Is Working For Small Business [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-09-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

If you're in business - chances are good that you're a "small" business - and you're in good company. According to the 2008 US Census data it's estimated that there are about 27,281,452 businesses - of which 21,351,320 (78%!) are "Nonemployer" businesses. Yeah, I never really heard that term before, either. Here's how the Census folks define a "Nonemployer" business: Most nonemployers are

Happy 10th iPod! Sorry, But You Must Die Now. [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-09-29T06:47:00.000-07:00

Happy 10th Birthday! (almost - it's actually October 23rd) BLAM! Goodbye. Yep, it's time that Apple put the ol' girl down and sell her to the glue factory. The world was a vastly different place in 2001. George Bush was sworn in as President, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone just came out (along with Shrek; Monsters, Inc.; and Ocean's 11), the Baltimore Ravens won the SuperBowl (34-7

How To Get a Job At Google, Apple or Facebook [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-09-28T06:17:00.000-07:00

As I was trolling the interweb this morning, I came across this infographic that was showing what kinds of job openings there are at the "big 3" (not automakers, tech employers). It seems like there's a "Top 3" formula to getting hired at one of these companies: 3. Be smart; 2. Be able to communicate and use SEO words on resume (NOT "CV", but "Resume"); ... and the number 1 way to get hired

Who Is Most Likely To Upgrade To iPhone 5 (or "4s" or whatever) [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-09-27T07:03:00.000-07:00

Yes, the tech world is all a-Twitter with speculation and anticipation at the prospect of Apple launching a new phone next week. Yeah, a phone. No one knows if it will be the fabled iPhone 5 or just a slightly improved iPhone 4 - dubbed iPhone 4S. But, one thing is for sure - no matter what the number - if the battery is better - people will buy it (according to this infographic): SOURCE

Monday Random: After Helping Kids With Homework This Weekend

2011-09-26T07:34:00.000-07:00

My kids just started Junior High this year - and I swear, they have more homework than I did in high school! Anyway, as I was sitting there going over some pre-algebra (not my favorite) - listening to them say "What does it matter, we won't really use it in 'real life'..." Then, I came across this cartoon - and it all makes sense now!

How Google (and the Internet) Are Making Us Smarter and Dumber At The Same Time [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-09-22T07:24:00.000-07:00

Remember the "good old days" - when you wanted to read a good book you didn't flip on a screen? Or, when you were looking for work you waited for the Sunday classified section of the "newspaper" (Google it). Or, when you needed more information on something you would go to a "library" or look in an "encyclopedia"? When was the last time you actually manually dialed a phone number on your phone

Technology Way Back Machine: 1996

2011-09-21T06:46:00.000-07:00

For those of you older than 15 - here's a reminder from whence we came: a couple of pictures of a Best Buy circular from 1996. That's right! You can buy a pager (Google it!) for only $70! Need an upgrade in your computer memory? No problem - we have 16 MEGAbytes (not GIGAbytes) for only $130! Need more storage - score this massive 3.1 GB hard drive - only $399! In the market for a new

Dear Netflix - Here's Why Qwikster Is Stupid [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-09-20T06:27:00.000-07:00

So it seems that this whole Netflix / Qwikster thing is blowing up in Netflix's face - and they don't seem to understand why. Well, this hard-hitting infographic from the folks over at theoatmeal.com should explain it to them:

Servoy TIP: Getting Current Quarter Date Range

2011-09-19T07:15:00.000-07:00

I do a lot of applications where users want reports or lists that take a date in the current record and filter or find all the records "In This Quarter". The calculation isn't all that difficult - but it's a cool time saver. Below, I've actually created 3 functions - so you can use the quarter start date, end date, or date range. /** * Return the starting quarter date for a given date *

FileMaker TIP: Current Quarter Date Range

2011-09-19T06:56:00.000-07:00

I do a lot of applications where users want reports or lists that take a date in the current record and filter or find all the records "In This Quarter". The calculation isn't all that difficult - but it's a cool time saver. You can make a script that returns the result, or make a custom function. Note that in this formula, I've created local variables - so you can use the $quarterStart and $

Win Mobile 8 - "Plug-In Free" (HA!)

2011-09-16T06:24:00.000-07:00

From time-to-time I have a gander at the Windows 8 blog - just to see what's happening in the world of "me-too." In one of the recent posts - Dean Hachamovitch (IE Team Leader) wrote about the fact that IE 10 will come in two flavors - one for mobile and one for desktop. Why? Seems that Microsoft has decided that Steve Jobs truly is an oracle of the future - and that HTML5 is awesome and the

How Enhance Your Site - So People Don't Bail [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-09-15T06:42:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you - but I surf the Internet... a lot. I see all kinds of different site - some that are terrific - and some, not-so-much. If a site is ugly, or has content from 2001 on it - I'm moving on - in all of about 10 seconds. If a site has wonky navigation - I'm out. If a site has colors that only the (probably color blind) designer could love (ORANGE! PINK!) - I'm out. If a site

Buzz Kill Wednesday - Saving For College [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-09-14T06:28:00.000-07:00

To all the fellow parents out there - sorry to kill your hump day buzz... but if you're not saving $600 - $1,850 per month per child for college (like me)... well, sucks to be you (me): SOURCE

Are YOU A Workaholic? [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-09-13T06:23:00.000-07:00

Hey you - yeah YOU. Are you feeling over-worked? Do you need a vacation? If you work in America - the answer is probably "yes:" SOURCE

Servoy TIP: Changing A Form's Style - LIVE

2011-09-12T06:37:00.000-07:00

I had a need the other day to change the style that was displaying on a form. My first thought was to just change all the object properties via scripting (a HUGE pain!). But, with the help of the SolutionModel (and controller.recreateUI() - in version 5.2+) - it was a snap. Let's say you have two styles: "defaultStyle" and "fancyStyle" defined in your resources. If you use this code: var

FileMaker TIP: Get Selected Text

2011-09-12T06:26:00.000-07:00

The other day I came across the need to grab the currently selected text that the user had selected. I (mistakenly) thought there was already a built-in function to do that... ummm... nope. So, I came up with a quick calculation to do it: Middle ( Get ( ActiveFieldContents ) ; Get (ActiveSelectionStart) ; Get ( ActiveSelectionSize ) ) You can package it up as a function, or use it (like I did

Always Connected is Not Always Good [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-09-07T06:43:00.000-07:00

Yeah, sure, you have a smartphone, an iPad, AND a laptop. You've got a mad WiFi network at home, at school, at McDonald's, at Starbucks - hell, even your MOM's got a wireless router. No wonder it feels like we can never "get away" - we're just always connected: SOURCE

The Internet Killed the Postman

2011-09-06T10:32:00.000-07:00

So the US Postmaster General, Patrick Donahoe, said if Congress doesn't act soon - that the US Postal Service will cease operations in the early part of next year. Huh? It seems that they're going "miss" a $5.5 billion payment this month (to fund future retirees healthcare); and Mr. Donahoe is asking to fire 120,000 workers; not replace 100,000 more jobs (due to attrition/retirements);

Servoy TIP: Number Suffix

2011-09-02T07:09:00.000-07:00

Here's a tip for adding the number suffix - like 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc: /** * @param {Number} input - the number to get the suffix for * @param {Number} returnWholeString - values: 0 (or null) - just the suffix, 1 (or >0) - number and suffix */function getNumberSuffix(input,returnWholeString) {if(returnWholeString == null || returnWholeString == undefined || returnWholeString == 0) {

FileMaker TIP: Number Suffix

2011-09-02T06:49:00.000-07:00

Here's a tip for adding the number suffix - like 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. You can use the formula below as a calculation, or put it into a custom function. If you use it as a custom function the parameter name would be "dataNumber": Let( [ isException = Case( Mod (dataNumber; 100) = 11 or Mod (dataNumber; 100) = 12 or Mod (dataNumber; 100) = 13; 1) ; last = Mod ( dataNumber ; 10 )];

Web Designers vs. Web Developers - FIGHT! [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-09-01T07:12:00.000-07:00

For my fellow geeks - if this wasn't so true - it would be funny. Oh, wait... it IS funny... BTW: There IS no place like 127.0.0.0! SOURCE

Attention In-Flight Users - Put Down Your iPhone! [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-09-01T06:31:00.000-07:00

I came across this infographic today - and, as it turns out, the people that use WiFi on airplanes are... well... almost all iOS users! Is it because iOS users don't know how to relax? Are we so determined to play Angry Birds or Bejeweled Blitz that we can't bear to go for a couple of hours without it? Good news fellow iOS users - apparently, we're not alone! SOURCE

Windows 8: Gimme Some Ribbons! (Oh, and an App Store!)

2011-08-31T06:47:00.001-07:00

Microsoft is due to release Windows 8 sometime in 2012. Wait - what? Yes, yes, I know. It's been only a scant two years (July 22, 2009) since they came out with Windows 7... but Windows 7 was really a response to the horrible, detestable, unusable, P.O.S called "Vista" that debuted in November of 2006. I mean, come on - they had to do SOMETHING. Even they knew Vista was crap - and, more

The History of Our Biggest Time-Suck: Email [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-08-30T20:31:00.000-07:00

Ah, yes - the wonders of "electronic mail." Looking back at the history of email - there was no indication in the early days that it would be the spam-filled, scammer, junk mail delight it has become. It started off with good intentions "...modern!", "...just like a typed memo!", "...you can even CC and BCC - just like a real letter!" And yet, in the 32 years since email was "born" (32 years!)

Servoy Tip: Calculating Age

2011-08-26T06:36:00.000-07:00

Calculating the age of something (or someone) is a task that I come across a lot. Here's a simple function that will help get you the basics: function getAge(myDate){ // myDate= new Date("7/12/1968") var now = new Date(); var yr = now.getFullYear() - myDate.getFullYear(); var mo = now.getMonth() - myDate.getMonth(); if(mo < 0) { mo = myDate.getMonth() - now.getMonth(); }

FileMaker TIP: Calculating Age

2011-08-26T06:33:00.000-07:00

Calculating the age of something (or someone) is a task that I come across a lot. Here's a simple calculation that will help get you the basics: Let ([ today = Get ( CurrentDate ) ; days = today - MyDateField; md = Date ( 0 ; days + 1 ; Year ( MyDateField) ) ; y = Int ( days / 365 )]; y & " years, " & Month ( md ) & " months, " & Day ( md ) & " days" )The reason it works is that

Steve Jobs Isn't Dead - He's Just Resting

2011-08-25T06:05:00.001-07:00

OK, OK, so no - this post isn't going to be another Apple fanboy re-hash of everything Steve Jobs has done from the beginning of time - nor will it be yet another analysis of Tim Cook (the new Apple CEO). But it will be my take on what Steve's resignation from Apple's CEO position yesterday will mean for Apple. Wait for it... Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Steve Jobs is not dead - he's just

Mini-Blog: How To Learn Basic JavaScript - CodeAcademy.com

2011-08-23T08:05:00.000-07:00

I just came across a new site today - it's called CodeAcademy.com and it's a really cool little concept. It walks you though some very basic exercises that teach you how to write your own JavaScript. Oh, and it's 100% FREE. The thing that makes this site different than others that just describe how JavaScript works (and there are some excellent ones like my favorite: w3schools.com), is that

There's A Reason You're Feeling Distracted [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-08-22T07:44:00.000-07:00

Have you ever just wanted to check comments on your Facebook status "real quick" - and then wind up down the rabbit hole for like 3 hours? Well, you're not alone! This awesome look at Digital Distractions at the Museum of Modern Art sums it all up nicely: SOURCE

Servoy TIP: How To Trap For Modifier Keys

2011-08-19T09:04:00.000-07:00

When you're developing your solution - there are times where you want to know if the user had any modifier keys pressed when they performed the action (drag and drop, right click, shift key down, etc.). Servoy returns a number for each key that is held down and, if you add up the numbers, you can tell which keys are down (much like my FileMaker Tip on the same subject) Luckily, there's a really

FileMaker TIP: How To Trap For Modifier Keys

2011-08-19T08:20:00.000-07:00

There are times when you want to allow some advanced functionality when a combination of modifier keys (shift, alt, ctrl, etc.) are held down. I've seen some developers go nuts with this - using one button with 5 or 6 functions based on what keys are held down... OUCH. I my opinion, not the best way to go - since the user has to "know" to hold down some combination of keys in order to make some

Just How Popular IS This Whole "Twitter" Thing? [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-08-17T06:11:00.000-07:00

Although I was an early tweeter - and you can hardly swing a dead cat without running into a story (or watch a TV show, or get a piece of junk mail) that features the word Twitter in it or on it somewhere. I came across this infographic - and the sheer numbers are simply astounding: SOURCE

What Does Your Mobile Phone Say About You? [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-08-16T07:47:00.000-07:00

There's that saying "you are what you eat" - and that got me to thinking... if you are what you eat - what does the operating system on your phone say about you? Naw, not really. I'm not THAT lame. I just found this infographic, and thought it was cool: SOURCE

Google To Acquire Motorola Mobility - Sad

2011-08-15T09:50:00.000-07:00

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard that Google has agreed to acquire Motorola Mobility (yeah, the part of Motorola that builds the phone handsets) for $12.5 billion in cash (at $40 per share - a 63% premium over the market close price on Friday). I know, right? It's clear that Google is buying the moto unit, not to expand their market share, not to get into the

30 Years Of The PC [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-08-13T12:14:00.000-07:00

Given my last missive about the personal computer turning 30 - the good folks over at PC Magazine have put it into an informative infographic: SOURCE

PC Turns 30: Seen Trying the "Trump Comb-Over"

2011-08-12T12:49:00.000-07:00

So the personal computer turns 30 years old today. Wow. I was reading a PC Magazine Article today that interviewed some of the folks that rode that wave and helped shaped the industry (Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Raymond Kurzweil, etc). They asked this group of technology luminaries the 3 most hard-hitting, insightful questions that you would expect from any mass-media outlet: What was the biggest

Friday Randomness: Becoming a Beer Snob [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-08-12T06:37:00.000-07:00

Well, the weekend is upon us - and just in case you were hoping to imbibe a little - here's a handy guide to help you order anything BUT Coors Light: SOURCE

Servoy TIP: Leap Year Function

2011-08-11T06:34:00.000-07:00

There may be times in your solution when you need to see if a certain year is a leap year. Here's the basic rules to determine if a date is a leap year or not: A year will be a leap year if it is divisible by 4 but not by 100. If a year is divisible by 4 and by 100, it is not a leap year unless it is also divisible by 400. So, as always is the case when you use JavaScript - there are many

FileMaker TIP: Checking For Leap Year

2011-08-11T06:33:00.000-07:00

There may be times in your solution when you need to see if a certain year is a leap year. Here's the basic rules to determine if a date is a leap year or not: A year will be a leap year if it is divisible by 4 but not by 100. If a year is divisible by 4 and by 100, it is not a leap year unless it is also divisible by 400. So, there are a couple of ways to do it - the first way is to use "brute

Where To (and NOT To) Stash Your Cash [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-08-09T05:59:00.000-07:00

So... now that you've cashed out all your stocks, you probably have a ton of cash lying around (assuming you didn't buy gold at the record high yesterday). Here's a quick, but helpful guide at where you should (and shouldn't) stash all that cash: SOURCE

A Quick Guide to Corporate Gifting [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-08-08T06:36:00.000-07:00

Got a new client to impress? Want to express your gratitude to a customer for that big new contract? Trying to suck up to a VC to get your startup funded? Here's an excellent roadmap to help ensure you get the most bang for your buck: SOURCE

Servoy TIP: Setting or Passing Multiple Variables At Once

2011-08-05T06:32:00.002-07:00

Servoy methods are JavaScript (or Java) functions - and in today's tip I'm going to show you how to initialize multiple variables at once and how to use an array to send multiple values as parameters to a different method. Let's start with the easy one first - initializing multiple variables to a single value. Now, keep in mind - there is no "right way" to do this - it's a matter of your

FileMaker TIP: Setting or Passing Multiple Variables At Once

2011-08-05T06:32:00.000-07:00

There are times when I'm developing a solution that I need to pass multiple parameters to a script - or when I'm in a script, I want to define multiple variables at once rather than having a whole bunch of "Set Variable" steps - you can just use the "Let()" function do all the heavy lifting. For example - I have a script that takes in a script parameter from a button, checks the current layout

Friday Randomness: DIY With Stuff You Already Have [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-08-05T06:04:00.000-07:00

Being that economic time are well... ummm... crappy - here's some useful tips for maximizing household items you already have:

Adobe Caves To HTML5 - Creates New "Edge" Tool

2011-08-04T05:02:00.002-07:00

Adobe announced this week that it's released a new (pre beta) tool called "Edge" that is designed to replace... er... "compliment" Flash. This still-in-the-oven tool will allow users to create fluid animations of objects on new (or existing) web pages with a graphical user interface using nothing more than HTML5, JavaScript and CSS3. Steve Jobs must be laughing his ass off right now. Let's face

Is Video Streaming Killing "Regular" TV? [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-08-03T06:54:00.000-07:00

Let's face it - network television is dying the same slow death that record stores did. It will take a little longer - because, unlike the music industry, television didn't change formats requiring you to re-buy all your favorite content on a different media (e.g. record, 8-track, cassette, CD, MP3). And, I don't know about you - but after owning a digital video recorder (DVR) for a few years I

Vintage Computer Ads - We've Come A Long Way, Baby!

2011-08-02T06:08:00.000-07:00

I had a dear old friend visit over the weekend and we were reminiscing about how much our lives have changed over the years. Everything from our marital status, to our careers to our children have changed - and so has the technology we use everyday. Back in the late 1980's I was a partner in an advertising company (Cusick & Klender Advertising) that did national radio and print campaigns. As

History of Computer Languages [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-08-01T06:46:00.000-07:00

Nothing says "our banking/financial application/airline reservation system/ATM infrastructure is cutting edge" - powered by COBOL or FORTRAN... Found this cool Infographic from the folks over at Rackspace... SOURCE

US Debt Visualized - The Terrible Truth [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-07-29T06:02:00.000-07:00

Sure, when you say "trillion" - it sounds like "billion" and "million" - and everyone knows a million is really not what a million used to be - right? How about this: $1,000,000 (one million) $1,000,000,000 (one billion) $1,000,000,000,000 (one trillion) Or said another way - if you spent $1 million per day since Jesus was born, you would have only spent about $700 billion- about the amount

Servoy TIP: How and Why To Implement UUIDs As Your Primary Key

2011-07-28T07:41:00.000-07:00

When setting up your database tables (if you create them in Servoy) - you know that Servoy automatically creates an integer unique record id that you can use when you relate data to/from another table. It's called a primary key. If you're working with datasources and tables that were created elsewhere (or you have a DBA that creates them for you) - they probably have a record id column that set

FileMaker Tip: How and Why To Use Universally Unique IDs (UUIDs)

2011-07-28T07:36:00.000-07:00

NOTE: Requires FileMaker Pro Advanced to setup. When setting up your database - you probably already use some sort of unique record id that you can use when you relate data to/from another table. It's called a primary key. And, if you're like most of us, you probably use the handy unique number auto-enter option: Now, there's absolutely nothing wrong with this approach - and most of the time

How To Survive Your Next Airline Trip (In Coach)

2011-07-27T07:34:00.000-07:00

Now I don't travel as much by plane as I once did - however I came across a little gem that will make your next trip in coach more bearable. This is a must-clip-and-save - in fact, I'm going to laminate one (or two) and keep it in my carry-on! DOWNLOAD a full-size PDF!

The Services/Products Startups Use The Most [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-07-26T06:45:00.000-07:00

I came across this infographic - and thought it was fascinating. Even though the sample size is pretty small (only 550 people) - it still shows some pretty interesting trends: SaaS (Software as a Service) is here to stay - and is an important part of the software mix Intuit has a good hook into the accounting/finance/payroll world People will put up with less features for less cost (e.g. Google

How To Get Coments On Yor Posts

2011-07-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

I came across a graphic - and I just had to share it with you - because, in my experience, nothing is closer to the truth: SOURCE

CDs and DVDs Are The New 8 Tracks

2011-07-25T06:06:00.000-07:00

Quick question - how many of you still play "records" on a turntable? Play 8 track tapes? Cassette tapes? Probably not many. Do you play CDs or DVDs? Sure! Everyone does. For now. All that is about to change. As with most cultural/technical change it's Apple that's leading the way. They just came out with a new version of their OS X operating system ("Lion") - and for the first time - they are

Servoy TIP: How To Automate Sending Mail from Gmail

2011-07-22T06:07:00.000-07:00

I recently needed to create some functionality to send mail via my Gmail account from within Servoy. It sounds pretty straight forward, but it turned out that there was one parameter that tripped me up. If you don't include this line of code - it won't send email, no matter what you try: mail.smtp.starttls.enable=true Took me a little while of digging on the Internet and trying stuff to get it

FileMaker TIP: Passing Multiple Script Parameters (FileMaker 8.5+)

2011-07-22T06:06:00.000-07:00

If you do a lot of scripting (and what FileMaker developer doesn't?) - you can cut down the number of scripts (and globals) you have to create by using script parameters on objects. Since you can only send a single parameter to a script (like you can only send a single parameter to a plug-in) I've seen a lot of developers who use a delimited string to send multiple parameters (like you would in a

All The Space Shuttle Information You Need [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-07-21T13:31:00.000-07:00

Check out this Infographic from NRP - it's got all the stats on the shuttle you want/need: SOURCE

No Soup For You! Read Your Terms Of Service On Social Media Sites

2011-07-21T08:41:00.000-07:00

Back in the days of heady telecom deregulation I had a landline (a "landline" is slang for having a telephone that is hard-wired into your house) - I had AT&T for both my long distance carrier and the provider for my sweet Motorola v551 (it had a COLOR screen and you didn't have to pull out the antenna before you started talking!). I was either traveling or my desk was just unorganized (I don't

Shameless Plug: Podcast Interview With Me by Ken Levy About Servoy

2011-07-20T19:15:00.000-07:00

Ken Levy, one-time product manager for FoxPro (yeah, I know... right?) - well, he's a helluva great guy and he took some time out of his busy schedule to have me on his Servoy Podcast the other day. If you're not sick of reading about my blathering on about technology - now you can be annoyed by my audio as well! Grab a beverage - it's over an hour long... Servoy Podcast With Ken Levy All

The Interconnection of Technology Companies [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-07-20T06:28:00.000-07:00

Where do all the technology companies and those "services we can't live without" come from? And who are the guys that came up with them? And where did they work before they came up with "the next big thing?" Three words: Microsoft and Apple. Yep, it seems that while on the quest to copy dominate the world, Apple's and Microsoft's HR department found some real forward-thinkers who, given the

Which Open Source Content Management System Is Right For You? [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-07-19T06:07:00.000-07:00

In the world of CMS (Content Management Systems) - there are three big open-source players: WordPress, Drupal and Joomla (yeah, I know they have crazy names but this was the late 90's). While they all have a lot in common: they help you publish your blog, monetize your content, are database-driven, allow non-programmers to add content to both blog and e-commerce sites, etc - they are all

New Product: Documentorium Lite For FileMaker

2011-07-17T03:04:00.000-07:00

OK, OK, I know we just brought our Documentorium for Servoy late last week... but I had a some FileMaker friends/customers ask if there was a FileMaker version available as well. It just so happens there is... Since it was only a couple of days ago that I wrote about how I came up with Documentorium for Servoy - so I won't rehash all that. If you're interested, you can read it here. If you've

Is There A Tech "Bubble" Or Not? [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-07-16T06:08:00.000-07:00

With the recent high-profile tech IPO offerings (LinkedIn, Netflix, OpenTable) and the recent rumors of high-profile tech companies IPOs on the horizon (Facebook, Twitter, EventBrite) - it's beginning to look a lot like 1999 to me. The valuation of LinkedIn was just.. well crazy. The initial stock price was $45 per share - giving the company a valuation of about $4.5 billion. The stock price is

New Product: Documentorium For Servoy [UPDATED!]

2011-07-15T03:48:00.000-07:00

I recently had a customer that required some technical documentation for a Servoy solution I built. Technical Documentation? YUK! The more I thought about it - the more I realized that it would be handy for me to also get a "30,000 foot view" of the solution. I needed to know what objects referenced what method, where local variables were used, where global methods were used, etc - so that if I

Is Social Media Making Us More "Media" and Less "Social"?

2011-07-14T06:35:00.000-07:00

OK, so I've written a few times about my take on social media - and I'll admit - it has changed over time. I've gone from mocking it, to loving it, to somewhere in-between, to taking a break from it. It seems that everyone is so intent on updating their status, tweeting "the latest", joining (or being added to) a "circle" that we're forgetting one, teeny, tiny detail: we're not actually

Servoy TIP: Creating a Timed Recurring Script

2011-07-13T06:26:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wanted to create a method that would run at a certain interval within your solution? Maybe you're creating a messaging application that checks for messages every 30 seconds; or maybe you want to automatically generate PDF reports and email them every night... The good news is - it's simple with Servoy! First, create (and test) the method you want executed. Then you're going to

FileMaker Tip: Live Summaries

2011-07-13T06:24:00.000-07:00

NOTE: This tip requires FileMaker 10 or higher I don't know about you - but I get a lot of requests from users to create exports to Excel. They have their reasons - but mainly it's because they want to see data a certain way, or they've used it for so long it's the only software they feel they really "know", or they want to do unholy things with the data, etc., etc. So rather than just create

How To Build Simple, Complex Software

2011-07-12T06:34:00.000-07:00

Judging from the response I got from yesterday's blog posting about customer-centric design - I thought I'd do a more practical follow-up. The feedback that I got went something like this: "Yeah, well, ok - but how do we accomplish customer-centric design (in processes as well as our software)?". I think that there are many different ways to accomplish the same things, and because custom

Customer Centered Software Design

2011-07-11T07:31:00.000-07:00

What would it be like if software companies acted more like Zappos (the customer-centric online clothing and shoe store) - and less like... well... software companies? Zappos was renowned for their free shipping and their absolute focus on making sure the customer was happy. They allowed (even encouraged) you to buy 3 or 4 sizes of shoes (or pants or whatever), try them on in your own home, and

Servoy TIP: Working With Record Objects

2011-07-08T04:31:00.000-07:00

In my last Servoy Tip I explained how to assign a new record object to a variable. Once you have any record object referenced in a variable - there are cool things you can do. You can "grab" the current record and store it in a variable by using this syntax: var myRec = foundset.getRecord(foundset.getSelectedIndex()); But there are a ton of other things you can as well. Let's say you have two

FileMaker TIP: Getting Rid Of The IWP Login Page

2011-07-08T04:29:00.000-07:00

If you use the Instant Web Publishing (IWP) feature in FileMaker to expose your database(s) via the Internet, there may be times when you want to disable the default login screen, or change the design of it, or even allow the user to "automatically" login as a guest via a web link. When you first enable Instant Web Publishing (on your FileMaker Server Advanced) - and you navigate to the default

Quick - Build A Paper Airplane! [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-07-07T08:06:00.000-07:00

If I only had a dime for every time some asked me to build 5 different paper airplanes on-the-fly.. ummm... well... I'd have a dime. BUT, just in case - enjoy: source

How Your Phone Gets Hacked [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-07-07T06:11:00.000-07:00

I was having a conversation with a group of people not too long ago - and I got a lot of questions about port sniffing and vulnerabilities while surfing at your favorite "free" wifi outlet. Here's a handy-dandy infographic to help you figure it out: source

How Billionaires Got Their Start [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-07-06T06:03:00.000-07:00

Wanna' be a billionaire? Don't give up hope! You gotta' start somewhere - just like these guys:

Hack Attack - By The Numbers [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-07-05T06:53:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a couple of days off - but I thought I'd give you some food for thought while I'm gone. Today's Infographic is all about the recent hacks of the Sony network by Lulzsec - and at the bottom - give you tips on how easy (or hard) your password is to crack (hint: change yours from "1234" - NOW!) source

How Much To Pay Off America's Debt? [INFOGRAPHIC]

2011-07-04T07:41:00.000-07:00

In honor of America's Independence Day - I came across this Infographic outlining how much it would cost to pay off America's debt... source