I employ many non-standard rankings to each new gadget but these include items like, “would I feel comfortable leaving this on the table while I went up for a refill” and “what is the delay bringing this into action”. All I’m saying is some camcorders are getting close, like the Creative Vado. Blogspot gets a D minus from me for ease of uploading video but you may see something like that here shortly. And Blogspot gets an F for their geek squad on-line directions.Ask me anything about server-side Javascript now. I read until 3:00 AM and made a few discoveries, which of course I will share with you. Javascript could have been the wonder-language if only the creators had been slightly far-sighted. There is a “visual” version available from Netscape, where you drag and drop what you want, letting the computer supply the code. From here on in, the difficulty will be figuring out the ways to get the components to work together. One of the most frustrating aspects of computer languages is that they only tell you about themselves, never how to get it to work. It is like going on a blind date without knowing why she’s desperate enough to do that.
For example, I once had a $60 PHP manual that said the software had to be “installed in the correct directory”. That’s it. In a year, nobody could find out what that directory was and PHP help desk insisted it was a Windows problem. The current Javascript manuals I have keep saying to “create a virtual path”, but never explain how that is done. No help at all, no directions. If any aspiring authors want a market niche, it is in booklets that explain how the components of software work together, the mechanical part of computers. For instance, the problem I’m chasing down today is that my various Javascripts won’t pass variables unless they are in the same location. Not a word in all three books, yet it is the single most important element that makes the entire system work.
Here’s a feature called “geotag” built into some digital cameras and phones. It uses GPS to embed location data in every picture you take. The idea is that when you download the files to your computer, a map will appear with a pin showing where you took each photo. If you can do it, so can they, so the searching question is how long before this becomes compulsory?
Here’s another, I tried it and it works. Suppose your TV remote will not work. Is it the batteries? Test it like this. Get your digital camera and hold the remote so it shines into the lens and press a few channel buttons. The camera LCD screen can see infrared light. If your remote is working, you’ll see bright white dots on the screen. Many thanks to Dave Johnson (PC World) for that one. That’s your remote control, reader, not your laser pointer.
I may be attending a wedding tomorrow, so drop back for details on Sunday. It is a situation where my best friend’s sister’s husband doesn’t want to go and she won’t miss it for the world. This gives me the impression everybody I know is getting married for the third time around. I meant people who have already been married. I might, ladies, point out that with one exception, none of the guys I grew up with ever got married. (Hey, Mitch, the exception is your brother.) Line forms to the left.
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