Dell should offer Ubuntu, Fedora and op...
... with an understanding of what to expect. I recommend that Dell does NOT use Linspire or Freespire for their first Linux PCs. That may surprise many of you reading this. Why ...
Konica Minolta's High School Scholarships Drive New Orleans Students Toward Collegiate Success
Nearly $50,000 awarded to McDonogh 15 students for special achievement in academics, music and creative arts; first of annual scholarships part of overall effort to support local school. (PRWeb Jun 11, 2007) Post Comment:Trackback URL: http://www.prweb.com/pingpr.php/TWFnbi1GYWx1LVByb2YtU2luZy1UaGlyLVplcm8=
Novell ramps up real-time operating system
... to release new updates for its SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time operating system next month. ... SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time contains the kernel enhancements, packages, tools and utilities that create ...
Microsoft Takes Aim at Web Video with Silverlight
According to a blog post at CNET, Microsoft’s “cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering the next generation of .NET based media experiences” also known as Silverlight is set to be released this week. Silverlight is designed to be a competitive offering to multi-media development tools and plug-ins like Flash. Flash has been the development tool [...]
Sweeping Program Aimed at Saving 189 Bird Species
With poaching and habitat encroachment killing off more bird species all the time, an international conservation group is raising millions in order to stop, if not reverse, the trend.
Kimberley & Co. Celebrates 15 Years with Swiss Army Knife Gift with Purchase
Kimberley & Co. celebrates 15 years as a registered Swiss Army dealer by offering a free Swiss Army knife gift with the purchase of a Swiss Army watch. (PRWeb Sep 11, 2007) Post Comment:Trackback URL: http://www.prweb.com/pingpr.php/VGhpci1DcmFzLUNyYXMtSW5zZS1UaGlyLVplcm8=
Improving Site Performance…
I have significantly improved our site performance in the last month. I did all the site optimization steps by the book, found a lot of new things and fine-tuned existing ideas. There are a couple of good ideas I am yet to implement like using Lighttpd server instead of Apache 2. I am writing a detailed [...] (Read on Source)
ACT! Software Takes Customer and Contact Management to the Next Level
When it comes to software solutions that improve your productivity by enabling you to manage your contacts and customers, over the past 20 years ACT! has proven that is unparalleled. According to ACT ...
Notebook Computers Go Green - Seagate Hybrid Hard Drive Ushers in New Era of Power-Thrifty, Higher P
... this helps bring to our customers in combination with Windows Vista." All versions of Windows Vista deliver native support for hybrid drives, so system builders and end users alike can ...
Hacking in International Keyboard Support in AIR beta 2
Sometimes you have to get crazy to pull something off. This is one of those times. I'm putting this together to share with other developers but also to demonstrate just how hackish I can get.
What's the problem?
Adobe AIR beta 2 has a bug where only the US keyboard layout is recognized within the HTML control. To go back a little further, AIR is essentially a Flash-based runtime that lets you create and run desktop applications (um, like Snitter). The cool thing about it is that AIR can actually create an HTML control that uses Webkit. From that HTML control, you can still do all the cool DOM stuff you'd expect but you can also access the Flash runtime and do some cool things from there, too.
The Sandbox
Further complicating matters is the security model within the HTML control. By default, everything runs within the application sandbox which has some restrictions. The rest of the application actually runs in the child sandbox which doesn't give you access to the runtime but you can create a bridge to the application sandbox.
Working through things
So, the HTML control only accepts the US keyboard layout. But the Flash runtime is perfectly fine (which meant Spaz doesn't do International but Tweetr does). My brilliant idea was to create a Flash input box and use it instead. Easier said than done...
Originally, I tried creating the a Flash-based text input and overlaying it where the regular text box would be. The problem there is that the box wouldn't resize with the window and if a theme moved the textbox to the bottom, I'd have to find a way to position it there. A few different ways of trying to get the size and position of the HTML text box proved fruitless.
I had all but given up on it but decided to tackle the problem again a couple weeks later. Snitter was getting linked up and one of the common complaints was the lack of international keyboard support.
The Solution
This time I thought to hide the text input and route key presses through the input. Finally, it all started to come together. Here's the magic:
Within the Application Sandbox
I created a text input handler which handles the conversion along with some event handlers.
var textHandler = { i18nText:null, init:function() { // make the text input textHandler.i18nText = new window.runtime.flash.text.TextField(); textHandler.i18nText.type = window.runtime.flash.text.TextFieldType.INPUT; textHandler.i18nText.x = -80; // position it offscreen textHandler.i18nText.y = 80; textHandler.i18nText.width = 45; textHandler.i18nText.height = 45; textHandler.i18nText.text = ""; textHandler.i18nText.multiline = true; textHandler.i18nText.visible = true; function flInputHandler(ev) { // give the HTML control focus again window.htmlControl.stage.focus = window.htmlControl.stage.getChildAt(0); // pass the text value back sandbox.changeText(ev.target.text); } this.i18nText.addEventListener(window.runtime.flash.events.Event.CHANGE, flInputHandler); window.htmlControl.stage.addChild(textHandler.i18nText); }, setText:function(s) { document.body.focus(); // reset the box before typing more stuff. textHandler.i18nText.text = ''; // give focus to the flash input so the text shows up window.htmlControl.stage.focus = textHandler.i18nText; } } /* =========================== ONLOAD */ window.onload = function(){ textHandler.init(); } Within the Child Sandbox
Within the child sandbox, there's the function to replace the value and the function to redirect the key press. The function to set the text was awkward because I had to rely on text selection to pull it off. I originally tried to rely on Ranges but for some reason, anytime I exited the textarea, the text would revert back as if I had hit undo on everything I typed. In the end, I ended up looking at how vBulletin was doing it to pull off a similar solution.
The key handling uses onkeydown. Luckily, I was able to shift focus and not lose the character from within the Flash text box. I did have to tweak things to make sure that normal keyboard functions like arrow keys, delete and whatnot still worked fine.
var sandbox = { changeText:function(s){ var tw = document.getElementById('tweetstatus'); tw.focus(); // use text selection to replace value var sel = window.getSelection(); var start = Math.min(sel.anchorOffset, sel.focusOffset); var end = Math.max(sel.anchorOffset, sel.focusOffset); tw.value = tw.value.substr(0, start) + s + tw.value.substr(end); tw.setSelectionRange(start+1,start+1); } } /* =========================== handle key events */ document.getElementById('tweetstatus').onkeydown = function(e) { // if the character shows up in the right range, redirect the input if((e.charCode > 31 && e.charCode < 127) || ( e.charCode > 159)) { parentSandboxBridge.setText(); return false; } } Hacky Sack
All of this will hopefully become a moot exercise as Adobe AIR marches on to a full 1.0 release. But when you jump on a beta platform, you have to be ready for beta-level workarounds.
Cellular modems plenty fast
... server. Is there one version you prefer over the others? A. I like the Ubuntu distribution. You can download it for free at , or they will even mail ...
Internet Currency Firm Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering
A digital currency business and its owners plead guilty to money laundering charges.
Terror propaganda takes hit in Iraq
Military successes in Iraq have nearly crippled al-Qaeda's ability to produce battlefield propaganda, hampering for now its ability ...
Computer Control on the Tip of Your Tongue
The tireless tongue already controls taste and speech, helps kiss and swallow and fights germs. Now scientists hope to add one more ability to the mouthy muscle, and turn it into a computer control pad. Georgia Tech researchers believe a magnetic, tongue-powered system could transform a disabled person's mouth into a virtual computer, teeth into a keyboard -- and tongue into the key that manipulates it all.
Google's Weird Ways With Open-source Licenses
The Open Road: "Up until now, the Mozilla Public License (MPL) and Eclipse Public License (EPL) were both banned from the site."
Adobe denies Flash Media Server vulnerability
Adobe is denying reports of a security vulnerability in its Flash Media Server 3 software. The company cites a Reuters story from earlier in the month, which claimed that while commands sent to play media were encrypted, the actual media was left unprotected in order to improve download speeds. This was in fact said to enable piracy at video sites such as Amazon's, and Reuters cited its own reco...
Ifill’s Moderation
Formatting: Use the buttons below to apply basic HTML styles. Or use these tags directly: <a href=""> <blockquote> <em> <strong> (Read on Source)
Dallas Stars lose opener to Columbus, 5-4
An exciting comeback led to a point in the standings for the Dallas Stars on Friday in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, but it didn't save the evening for coach Dave Tippett. (Read on Source)
Web Hosting Services Shopper's Guide
Web hosting services are widely available leaving one often confused with all the bells and whistles contained in their home pages. Selectin...
U.S. authors and publishers settle suit against Google
A settlement has been reached in the lawsuit against Google over the Internet search engine's use of copyrighted material.
ASUS predict $200 Eee PC netbook in 2009; focusing on 10-inch models
... up 70-percent of the total Eee PCs sold, with the remainder beingflash-memory based. Similarly, Microsoft Windows XP has proved more of a draw to consumers than Linux, outselling it 7:3. Netbooks ...
Government Gateway shutdown in new data scandal
User names and passwords for a key government system found in pub car park
The Government Gateway was shutdown after a memory stick containing user names and passwords for the wed site that gives access to everything from tax returns to parking tickets, was found in a pub car park.
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Mexico's president names new interior minister
President Felipe Calderon picks Fernando Gomez Mont, a criminal lawyer, to replace Juan Camilo Mourino, who died in a plane crash last week. Mexican President Felipe Calderon reached deep into his conservative political party Monday to name a new interior minister, replacing the senior official killed last week in a still-unexplained plane crash. (Read on Source)
Freeroll Poker Tournament Series Announced by WinAllPoker.com
WinAllPoker.com announce a poker freeroll tournament series to commemorate the launch of their poker newsletter with freeroll events being held at top online poker room venues on 6 - 7th December 2008. The freeroll poker tournament series will be on an invite only basis to subscribers of WinAllPoker.com's newsletter with free entry into the poker tournament series to all current members in addition to any new joining subscribers. Release provides a full schedule of poker freeroll tournament events to be hosted by WinAllPoker.com with details on how to get free entry. (PRWeb Nov 26, 2008)
Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/freeroll/tournament/prweb1667484.htm
Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Beta and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Beta
Windows Server 2008 SP2 Beta and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Beta is prerelease code offered to the public through our Customer Preview Program. Please see the Windows Server SP2/Windows Vista SP2 Customer Preview Program page on TechNet/MSDN for additional details, documentation, and forums.
Windows Vista SP2 TechNet
Windows Server 2008 SP2 TechNet
Windows Server 2008 SP2 Beta and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Beta apply to people, organizations, and technical enthusiasts who are comfortable evaluating prerelease software. This prerelease software is provided for testing only. Installation of Service Pack 2 Beta will result in Microsoft collecting information about the installation process, even if the installation is not completed. We do not recommend installing this software on primary or mission-critical systems. We recommend that you have a backup of your data before you install any prerelease software.
SP2 is an update to Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista that addresses feedback from our customers and partners. By providing these fixes integrated into a single service pack, Microsoft provides a single high-quality update that minimizes deployment and testing complexity for customers.
In addition to all previously released updates, SP2 will contain changes focused on addressing reliability and performance issues, supporting new kinds of hardware, and adding support for several emerging standards. SP2 will also continue to make it easier for IT administrators to deploy and manage large installations of Windows Server 2008.
Service Pack 1 is a prerequisite for installing Service Pack 2. Please make sure that your system is running Service Pack 1 before you install Service Pack 2.
Windows Server 2008 SP2 Beta and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Beta - Five Language Standalone version can be installed on systems with any of the following language versions: English, French, German, Japanese, or Spanish.
Support for Windows Server 2008 SP2 Beta and Windows Vista SP2 Beta can be received by visiting the Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 TechNet forum.
MochaHost Announces Web Hosting Holiday Specials & Gift Cards
... MochaHost Announces Web Hosting Holiday Specials & Gift Cards San Jose-based Web hosting provider offering Holiday special that ...
Internet Explorer Update Due Soon, Microsoft Hints
... to a user's PC via Windows Update or other standard update mechanisms, such as Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), the most popular business update process. Hachamovitch also said end users ...
First reactions to Windows 7
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes: Having my hands on the beta 1 of Windows 7 over the holidays has been an interesting experience because it?s allowed me to show the OS to people and get feedback from a broad range of users as to how they feel about Microsoft?s upcoming operating system.
First off, let me point out that these reactions aren?t based on some sort of half-assed Mojave Experiment that I carried out. Feedback is based on people having a play with the OS and then being asked what they thought.
Overall, reactions from all OS camps (Windows users, Mac users and Linux users) was fairly positive. In a world where the majority of computer users are happy if they can access the web, check email, sort through a few photos and play games, this isn?t all that surprising.
name: MAGPIE