Monthly Archives: October 2009

Calling Greybox Gallery Image Sets (gb_imageset, GB_showImageSet) from Adobe Flash

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So I needed to use Flash to trigger some image viewing capabilities in GreyBox but found surprisingly little information on how to do it. After piecing several bits of knowledge together, I got it working to my liking. Here it is for anyone else who searches for it (including me.)

Install GreyBox as you normally would. You can download the package and installation / usage instructions from the fine folks at Orangoo: http://orangoo.com/labs/GreyBox/.

In your HTML, define an image set array for GreyBox to use and a function to call GreyBox and show a specified image:

<script type=”text/javascript”>
var image_set = [
{'caption': 'Image Number One', 'url': 'http://www.yourdomain.com/images/img_lg_01.jpg'},
{'caption': '
Image Number Two', 'url': 'http://www.yourdomain.com/images/img_lg_02.jpg'},
{'caption': '
Image Number Three', 'url': 'http://www.yourdomain.com/images/img_lg_03.jpg'},
{'caption': '
Image Number Four', 'url': 'http://www.yourdomain.com/images/img_lg_04.jpg'},
{'caption': '
Image Number Five', 'url': 'http://www.yourdomain.com/images/img_lg_05.jpg'},
{'caption': '
Image Number Six', 'url': 'http://www.yourdomain.com/images/img_lg_06.jpg'},
];

function doGreyBox(img_num) {
GB_showImageSet(image_set, img_num);
}
</script>

Now create a flash file.  To make this example easy, place a standard button on the stage and put the code below on it (modify the following to call the image of your choosing from the image array you defined above.)

on (release) {
getURL(“javascript: doGreyBox(3)”); // This will trigger Image Number Three
}

Now add the flash to your HTML document and set wmode=transparent to ensure that flash will not remain on top of any GreyBox windows.

That’s it – not difficult, just Adobe Flash and GreyBox are not commonly used together for images.  Feel free to modify the example above to get your job done.  Questions or concerns – just leave a comment and I’ll do my best to help you out.

Whiskerino 2009 Approaches!

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Ready thine beards, my virile and facial follicle endowed friends. Whiskerino 2009 fast approaches!

While Michael’s blog and other usual sources have been quiet, it does appear that preparations for Whiskerino 2009 are underway. A particularly lovely splash page is up at www.whiskerino.org/2009 and as usual, the clean-shaven start is scheduled for November 1.

This will be my third go at the event and I simply can’t wait. I’ve gone the distance the past two years and as long my daughter doesn’t hate seeing daddy with a beard, I plan to do the same this year. I encourage all of you to join the ranks this year – it’s insane fun, very creative and a great way to make some excellent friends from all over the globe.

Verizon pinpoints Oct. 28th as the Official Droid Annoucement Date. Motorola Leaks Photos and Specs.

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UPDATE: Looks like Motorola jumped the gun and released the photos and specs a tad early. While the page is down again, Boy Genius was able to get everything and GearLog immediately reported on it: http://www.gearlog.com/2009/10/motorola_releases_droid_specs.php.

The resolution alone has me salivating. It sports a 3.7″ 480×854 touch screen and runs a 550 MHz processor, rumored to be the new Cortex-8 architecture.

Calling the Motorola Droid a “must have” and “the most desirable” phone of the year, Verizon has sent the media invitations for an exclusive event on October 28th, 2009.

Droid Does! – Verizon getting an Android Handset (Motorola Droid) October 30?

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Android on Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless launched a new “iDon’t – Droid Does” ad campaign today focused on the shortcomings of the iPhone.  Finally!

It’s no secret that I’ve been waiting for an Android (Google OS) phone to hit Verizon and I couldn’t be more excited that it’s legit and official.  And by doing a simple symbol to decimal replacement on the rotating symbols at the bottom of the page at http://www.droiddoes.com, we get a countdown timer in the format: DD HH MM SS that will eventually stop on October 30. Whether that is the date for the official announcement / release or for the phone’s availability, I don’t know.

It is assumed that this first phone will be the Motorola Droid, formerly known as the Moto Shoals or Tao.  The specs are reported to be as follows:

  • 3.7-inch capacitive touchscreen display with a 854 x 480 resolution
  • OMAP3430 600MHz ARM Cortex A8 processor
  • 512MB ROM and 256MB RAM
  • Android OS 2.0
  • 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and video recording
  • Wi-Fi
  • Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
  • USB 2.0
  • 3.5mm headphone jack
  • 16GB of internal storage
  • microSD/microSDHC card slot
  • Dimensions: 60.00 x 115.80 x 13.70 mm
  • Weight: 169 grams
  • 1400 mAh Li-ion battery that will offer 450 hours on standby and 420 minutes of talk time

Free Ubuntu Stickers (even some to cover up your Windows keys!)

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W00t! System76 is offering free Ubuntu stickers!

Just send a SASE to:
System76, Inc. (Free Stickers)
1582 S. Parker Rd. Ste. 310
Denver, Colorado 80231

You get four ‘Powered by Ubuntu’ stickers and four Ubuntu keyboard stickers.

The Eyeballing Game!

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I can’t believe I’ve spent more than an hour playing this – If you can beat 2.26 (not a fluke, my average is 2.6) you must let me know.

http://woodgears.ca/eyeball//index.html

And as an added bonus – the guy’s woodworking site is quite excellent.  He has free plans and some excellent advice.  If you like that sort of thing (I do) you’ll want to bookmark his site.

Windows 7 Upgrade Excitement and Trepidation

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Windows 7 Ultimate Signature Edition

Oh yes!  I have Windows 7 Ultimate (signature edition… whatever that is) in hand.  I’ve actually had it for nearly a week now and I’ve not installed it yet.  I can’t say why, really.  I’m excited about it.  We have the release candidate running quite nicely on the office print server.  I’m currently running Windows Vista Business and I know Windows 7 is better than it.

Yet I remain timid.

If I search my feelings and think back, I’ve had this feeling before…. several times.  It’s the fear of the upgrade:  the fear of data loss (work data, in this case – not just photos and my WoW install,)  the fear of performing the upgrade only to realize that something didn’t tick correctly and have to format and re-install anyway.  I don’t worry with linux, I don’t even worry with the office Mac… and I hate it.  Still, I worry with Windows.

Do I worry because I care too much?  There might be something to this.  If I used the Macbook for more than website testing and occasional browsing, then I would care about what might occur in an upgrade failure.  If my netbook were more of a computer and less of a toy, I would care about a Ubuntu upgrade meltdown.  I actually use the Windows machine.  It is a tool, not some glammed up wanna-be computer or a child’s plaything – my PCs are valuable to me.

So I’ll meditate on this upgrade.  I’ll spend the money and buy a virgin hard drive.  I’ll install Win 7 clean and spend time transferring files and reinstalling software.  I’ll genuinely enjoy the process.  I’ll set the Vista drive on a shelf – just in case – and I’ll be secure in my upgrade.

I am exited and timid about Windows 7…. and I’m completely happy with that.

Daddy’s Girl

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I must first say that Lana nor I posed Avery for these photos – she truly gravitates toward any computer in the house.  She will place herself between us and a computer if she can and will show extreme anger when we move her or shut the lid of the laptop, etc.  Aside from watching choppy YouTube videos and uncomfortably browsing the internet in your car while poaching a WiFi connection from Starbucks, a 9″ Dell Netbook running Ubuntu and Cheese can be your baby’s favorite toy, too!

Anyhoo – I guess the geek does not fall far from the tree– 17 months old and I already fear my house will be host to a LAN party any day now.  *sigh*  She’ll be pulling mobs and raiding with uncle Jason and aunt Teresa soon…

Text to Uppercase and More

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I wish i had access to this tool (I wish I’d just thought to code it myself, even) five years ago.  I can’t count the number of times I’ve had to re-type a client’s text so that it displays correctly in a design (converting text to upper-case, reversing letters, etc.)…. and since I’m a horrible typist, my output is often riddled with mistakes.   This is brilliant: copy text, apply filters, transform the text, copy the new text.  Fin.

Uppercaseit.com… Because nobody wants to retype it!