Projects ideas

Aug 5, 2008 · 2 min read

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Some random application ideas, for the RedScorpion section…

Inspired by the Italian Java User Group, I have done a “bet” on two simple project, to look forward them as a “projects for the user and not the technical guys”. The project are only idea at the time of writing, but if you think they can be good, leave a comment below. Bye :)

Brasil Windows Backup Script 1.0

Aug 3, 2008 · 2 min read

en · backup brasil4win python redscorpion script

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We are happy to announce the first version of brasil for window, a small python backup script.

Brasil4Windows is a small python script you can use to zip and backup your files on a regular basis. Brasil4Win offers:

LowLoad Backup. The script will try to pause under heavy load computer.
Fine-grained ETA using stored bytes AND passed time. It can print you a good extimation on when it will finish.
Skip-and-retry schema for locked files. Sometimes under windows files are locked. Brasil4Win retry to open them from time to time.
Optimized for using Psyco: http://psyco.sf.net We suggest you to set it up psyco for on-the-fly compilation of the script. It rocks.
The script is released under GNU Public License License v2.0, so feel free to use it.

Network computer

Aug 3, 2008 · 1 min read

blog-objectsrootcom en · business future gioorgi gioorgi-com system

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Take a look to my article on the future of operating systems and network computers on Gioorgi.com. Gioorgi.com will slowly become the new business blog of Objectsroot.com

Network computer: revisited

Aug 3, 2008 · 3 min read

en software · ideas redscorpion trends

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The Network Computer was a bad idea born in the middle of the ‘90, and ended up to be completly wrong. Anyway, the current software tecnologhy (like AJAX, Google Gears, the psedo-new-ms-windows os called midori) can be helpuful to sketch a new idea of operating system.

The network computer fails because it pretends to store all information (program, user data) on the server. Worst, it pretends a fee for application usage. But users preferred a buy-one model, because they didn’t like the renting model

In the NC world the Software company will also hold all you private documents, a very security concerns.

And the software company must guarantee also nobody will look your important market strategy stored on a corel draw excel. This things costs too much.

Even Apple is trying to remove DRM from Apple Store, selling some titles without it. The reason is simple: apple needs to upgrade its copy protection scheme, for avoiding some hacker will be able to crak it. But this costs too much!

Let’s see what we can think now, after 10 years, a bunch of iPhone/EEPC out of there and Open Source full of life…

Designing Interfaces with Balsamiq

Aug 1, 2008 · 3 min read

en featured knowledgebase software · design interface

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In the last seven months I have the need of sketching a bunch of interfaces, but I cannot find a valid tool. I was a Software Architect of a big huge project, busy also on other smaller projects as project manager.

I need a rapid way to sketch use cases, to pass them to a very young team.

Web interfaces are not easy to design, and we was in a very weird situation: the team was forced to use DAOs, with no O/R mapping tool. So I need also to map some interfaces to a database model, to help them building the model and the view classes

After some search, I ended up with MS Visio.

MS Visio is great, but too difficult to use, doing training is hard and so I must discourage its use. Worst, Visio costs a lot, and it is not included with the standard MS-Office Tools.

Visio offers only WinXP look&Feel, which is not the best for designing agnostic web interfaces.

Thank you to a friend of mine, I have the discovered the BalsamIQ Mockup project. Let’s see why it is a so good solution.