http://brian.pontarelli.com Brian Pontarelli Wed, 01 Oct 2008 02:07:56 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I might be smokin' crack, but I think that todays (September 30th, 2008) Java update from Apple finally fixed the command-tab issue. I haven't verified it with different apps yet, but the ones I use regularly seem to be working as expected when you command-tab to them. http://brian.pontarelli.com/2008/09/30/java-and-command-tab-fixed/ I went to the 37 Signals event last night sponsored by CPB. The speaker was Jason Fried, who is a founder of the company, a designer and all around smart guy. Jason spoke mainly about small business. He presented a list of things that companies can do to become more productive ... http://brian.pontarelli.com/2008/08/01/an-evening-with-jason-fried-from-37-signals/ Just read an interesting new I, Cringely about a piece of software named Talkinator. The technology seems just like a new IRC for the web with some APIs and Web 2.0 style, but that wasn't what caught my eye. What caught my attention was that Cringely states that Taklinator doesn't ... http://brian.pontarelli.com/2008/07/28/talkinator-and-profanity/ I have recently gone through the exercise of restoring a medium sized SubVersion repository from an older backup and wanted to share my experience with everyone. First, the problem: The problem After you restore the older backup, if any work was performed between the last backup and when the repository crashed, the ... http://brian.pontarelli.com/2008/07/28/restoring-a-subversion-repository-from-an-old-backup/ Depending on the API you are using or how you are using SSL, you might have received an error stating that the certificate is invalid, not path to certificate, invalid certificate chain, no chain found, PKIK error, or something similar. This occurs when the certificate is self-signed or signed by ... http://brian.pontarelli.com/2008/07/26/java-ssl-and-self-signed-certificates/ Found a good shortcut for getting access to hidden folders in OS X file dialogs and the Finder. It requires some typing and it doesn't auto-complete like Linux does, but it is better than nothing. Just hit Shift-Command-G to open the "Go To Folder" dialog and then type the path ... http://brian.pontarelli.com/2008/07/01/hidden-folders-in-os-x-file-dialogs/ One of the things I've noticed lately are some discussions regarding how cumbersome generics can be. They can take time to get right or figure out and some folks have gone as far as to stipulate that if you can't do it without generics then something is borked. While reading a ... http://brian.pontarelli.com/2008/06/19/how-generics-can-pay-dividends/ While waiting to see if my X300 sells on Craig's list and before I eBay it, I figured I would go back to my roots and install a bunch of operating systems on the machine. It is very new hardware and I wanted to see what else is out there. ... http://brian.pontarelli.com/2008/05/27/open-source-operating-system-quest/ So, some of you might have seen that my latest laptop purchase has been a complete disaster. I've decided to sell it and switch entirely to Apple hardware and software because at this point I just need an OS and machine that I can count on and is some form ... http://brian.pontarelli.com/2008/05/22/i-cant-sell-a-laptop-on-craigs-list/ Got my Lenovo Thinkpad X300 last week and I've been using it for development for only a few days. Here are my first impressions: Pros Very lightweight Fast - the SSD drive seems to make some things pretty fast and the system is fast enough for the work I do Nice screen THE BEST KEYBOARD ... http://brian.pontarelli.com/2008/05/14/x300-first-impressions/