Computer Science Forums

I started a new forum called Computer Science Forums. It's a place where you can discuss any topics related (or unrelated) to the topic of computer science. Feel free to drop on by and say hello!

http://www.compsciforums.com

Apple Installs MobileMe Without Your Consent.

If you are on Windows and have installed iTunes 7.7 check your control panel and see if this has happened to you too.

Code Caddy: Source Code Storage Utility

One day I was sitting around trying to think of a cool idea for a website. I started off thinking of what tasks are a hassle in my day to day computer use. I found that making my computer science projects available to all of the computers I use on a daily basis a real hassle. There was no real easy way to transfer my projects between my desktop, work computer, computer lab, and girlfriend's computer. I could have used a thumbdrive, but I am constantly losing them which makes this solution not a very good one. I have emailed myself projects before, but this clutters up my inbox, and there is no way to neatly organize all of my files. I never really cared if anyone else would use it as long as I found it useful.

I decided to call my website Code Caddy. Like a golf caddy carries golf clubs, Code Caddy carries your code for you wherever you go. Code Caddy does more than hold your source code. It also enables you to organize your projects, and preview your code with syntax highlighting.





Give Code Caddy a shot and tell me what you think.

Bianchi Pista

EDIT: New Pictures.
This is with flash:

Without Flash:

My Beloved Wiener Dog

How To: Compile and Run Basic C++ Programs in Xcode

This tutorial is to help out anyone that wants to create a terminal based c++ program using Xcode for Mac OS X. This is mainly for the people in CS 150 at ODU, but I think many can benefit from this as a getting started guide. If you know some basic C++ already this guide will be easier to you, but no prior knowledge is required for this how-to.

1. Download Xcode

The program that Mac users need to develop their programs is called Xcode. Xcode is an IDE that is built specifically for OS X users. Other IDEs that you may be familiar with are Visual Studio, and Dev-C++ both of which are for Windows. To download Xcode go here and click the link on the right labeled "Tools Downloads". Next, you will need to select a version of Xcode that is supported by your version of OS X. 10.4 Tiger users should use Xcode 2.5 and 10.5 Leopard users should use Xcode 3.0. If you have not done so already you will need to register for Apple Developer Connection site in order to download (registration is free). This is a somewhat large download, so grab a coffee or something and then come back to step 2.

2. Installing Xcode

Now that we have downloaded Xcode we will need to install it. The file that you downloaded should be a DMG file. Double click the file to mount the disk image, and a new icon on your desktop should appear. Double click the new icon, and then double click the Xcode installer which should be called something like xcodetools.mpkg. Go through the options like you were installing a normal piece of software, and then when it is all done click finished. Hooray! Xcode is installed.

3. Starting a New Project

This is where it gets interesting. When I first started to try Xcode out this is where I got confused and hopefully you will not go through what I did. I am using Xcode 3.0 with Leopard, so if you are a Tiger user things may be a bit different. First, you will want to open Xcode. The Xcode application is not located in your applications folder, but in the Developer directory. Its location is Macintosh HD/Developer/Applications/Xcode. Double click the Xcode icon to open the application, and you will be greeted by a startup assistant. I just went through with the default options, but if you are picky about where you projects are saved etc. then feel free to change the options. When the welcome window pops up just close it by clicking the "x" at the top left of the window. Then, go to File in the menu bar and then select "New Project". Now the intuitive thing to do would be to select the "Application" drop down, but for us we actually want to select the "Command Line Utility" drop down item. From there you should select "C++ Tool" and click next. Give your project a name and specify a place to save your project. I will call mine "hello" and leave the Project Directory as it is. Now click finish and you project window should appear. Now we will start the coding of our project.

4. Coding Compiling and Running

One of the files in the window should jump out at you right away and that is main.cpp. Double click it to open it in the editor. As you can see it has a very simple Hello World application in it, and this is where you will put your project's code. Now lets compile and run our Hello World program. Click on the build button at the top left of the editor window. If it asks you to save just click save all and it will compile. Now go to your "Project Organizer" window and then double click the executable file which in this case is just "hello" without any file extension. A terminal window should now open and your program should run. Now you know how to program in C++ on a Mac!

5. Notes

There are a few things about coding in C++ on a Mac that are different than a PC. For example the command:

system("PAUSE");

does not work on a mac, and there is no easy way around it.

Secondly, you may have noticed that the example program used the command:

std::cout<<"Hello World";

instead of just

cout<<"Hello World";

this is because the example is not using the std namespace. So you can code in 2 different ways. Either option A:

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main (int argc, char * const argv[]) {

     // insert code here...
     cout << "Hello, World!\n";
     return 0;
}

Or option B:

#include <iostream>

int main (int argc, char * const argv[]) {

     // insert code here...
     std::cout << "Hello, World!\n";
     return 0;
}

Note that the "\n" after Hello World is an indicator to start a new line after Hello World.

Christmas Parts On My Bike Finally

Here is my bike with new stuff on it.

New Bike

Hey I just got my Surly Steamroller and heres a pic. (totally stock, totally boring)

Painting My Bike

Finished Result

Finished Mock-up

Original

-9/25/07-

So here is my bike after the paint stripper and sanding. There is still a lot of paint remnants, but they are all smooth, and shouldn't cause any flaws in the new paint.

Leigh was kind enough to take a picture of me spraying some primer on the frame. I left my cranks on because I was too lazy to have the local bike shop do it, and too broke to buy the tool to do it myself. Same goes for the chain.

After a little while I had a pretty decent coat on the frame.

-9/26/07-

Today I decided to spray primer on the forks. I did a way better job here than I did on the frame. I was scared to put too much primer on the frame because I thought it would drip but I ended up putting too little.

There are still a few rough spots that you can see in this pic. I think a little wet sanding can fix that right up though.

Here you can tell that I under painted the frame just a little bit.
More updates tomorrow!

-9/27/07-

Today I put on a few more coats of primer and I think that it is starting to look really good. I took a picture of a same part of the frame as yesterday so that you can make a good comparison.

Here is a good shot of one of the harder spots to paint on the bike. This has been even harder due to my laziness with leaving the cranks on.


I have run out of primer, so the next thing I am going to do is wet sand the primer with some really fine grit paper. Once that is done and my glow in the dark paint shows up I will start spraying coats of that.

-10/01/07-

So I have completed the paint job and I am kinda stoked and kinda disappointed. I ordered 2 cans of glow paint thinking it would be enough for the whole bike, but each can was half the size of the primer and clear. So I ended up not being able to put on multiple coats of the glow paint and it looks really splotchy. However, in person its hard to tell that it is splotchy. I am stoked at the fact that it actually glows pretty well. My camera couldn't get any good pictures of the paint glowing, but I did get this awesome video of me "painting" my bike with light. Enjoy.

-10/12/07-

Since I was not too happy with the splotchy-ness of the first paint job I decided to try again. This time I am much more satisfied with the results.



I also sprayed a few smaller parts (seat post collar, bottle cage bolts, etc.) the same green color to match everything. I can't wait to get it all put together.

-10/14/07-

Finally, I have finished my bike! The paint really does look good and I am super excited about the results. Heres the pictures:
As an added bonus I got this bike over the weekend for just $40!

Duck Tape Prom Dresses and Tuxedos [PICS]

Duck brand duct tape puts on a contest every year for prom goers to strut their duct tape skills. It is truly incredible how much time these people have on their hands. Oh and the outfits are pretty incredible too.

read more | digg story

How well is Ron Paul REALLY Doing in the Opinion Polls?

After browsing Digg anytime I have a free minute, I started to think that Ron Paul might really have a chance at becoming president. However, after I took a look at the Republican Party Opinion Poll results I started to lose faith extremely fast.

read more | digg story

In the News!

A little while ago, in May, I made a post about some easy and cheap college cooking ideas here on my blog. I never thought it would gain any interest except as a quick cookbook for my own needs. However, a writer for the Associated Press named Tanya Leach was writing a similar article as I had, and was gathering input from college students for meal ideas. After an anxious wait her article with me in it was published and sent out to newspapers all over the country. Here is a little excerpt from the article.

Neil Monday, a senior computer science major at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., who posted cheap college meal ideas on his blog in May, says simple hamburgers or hot dogs take almost no time to prepare on the Foreman grill. "Then I throw them on sandwich bread," says Monday, 21, because it's cheaper than buying buns.

- The Tyler Paper

I've already found five papers that have used this article, and will continue digging for more. Maybe this will persuade me to write more often than I have been recently. Thanks for reading!

Alternative to Digg Picture Section

I have just signed up for a del.icio.us account and spent a little time learning the ropes, when I realized one way that digg could really improve as far as the way it handles pictures. The thing that inspired me was the way that del.icio.us uses tags, and I wanted to be able to use a uniform tag for all pictures on digg. It seems as though the people at digg do not want a picture section for one reason or another, so I opened up gimp to make a little example of what I think would be a cool way to handle pictures in digg. Sorry I have absolutely no skill at gimp or photoshop. Feel free to let me know what you think, and leave any suggestions in the comments section.


I thought purple was a good color for it, but really you could use any color, just mess with the Hue/saturation settings. I should state that the stories I have labeled with "PIC" are not actual picture stories, but ones I just labeled as a proof of concept.

Digg it

Leaving Windows for Ubuntu

This is the first install of what will be a periodic, ongoing series on how migrate from Microsoft's Windows to other Operating systems. This first article provides insight in the much discussed Ubuntu Linux.

read more | digg story

Techies pull apart Apple iPhone; shares of parts-makers rise

It seems as though there is something to be gained financially by pulling apart an iPhone and seeing who manufactures components of this ever so popular device.

read more | digg story

Updates and Sailboat

Well I guess my blog is more interesting than I had previously thought. Yesterday, a food writer from the Associated Press named Tanya Leach interviewed me about my cooking style as a college student. AWESOME! Apparently, the article is going to show up in many local newspapers in the food section sometime in the next month or so. I'll keep you posted on the details.

In other news I have secured a job with Alcoa Howmet which I mentioned in an earlier blog post. I am a computer programmer, and I write programs that deal with the tons and tons of data that Howmet records. This job is definitely the best job I have ever had, and I really look forward to staying here as long as I can.

Lastly, by tomorrow afternoon I should be the proud owner of a new used Hobie Cat Turbo 14 foot sailboat. It is going to be a long drive down there, but it will be well worth it. Once I get some pictures I'll post them. Take it easy.

Extreme Hydrofoil Sailing

"A hydrofoil is a craft with wing-like foils mounted on struts below the hull. As the craft increases its speed the hydrofoils develop enough lift for the boat to become foilborne - i.e. to raise the hull up and out of the water. This results in a great reduction in drag and a corresponding increase in speed."-Wikipedia

Many of us have atleast heard of hydrofoils, maybe even have seen some hydrofoils in action. Usually hydrofoils are motorized boats with foils mounted under the hull. The steady output of their engine keeps the water flowing over the foil at a pretty constant velocity, which makes it easier to use and gives it a more predictable behavior. Now people have started to use foils on sailboats, and the type of water craft that result are quite stunning.

Moth Sailing



The moth class is considered a dinghy, and is starting to become a very popular racing class in Australia and America. Just watching these hydrofoils in motion immediately shows you how talented these skippers must be.

Hobie TriFoiler



This hydrosail was made in 1990 by Hobie, and is no longer in production. The 3 hull and dual mast configuration is rather impressive. However, to me, it is even more impressive to watch how well they handle.


Trimaran Hydrofoil



The Trimaran has already beena popular class of sail boat. The thing that makes this one different is that it has been fitted with a hydrofoil. Now that there is very little drag the top speeds are mind boggling. Fast forward to about 1:20 to see just how far out of the water this thing gets.

Should I sell my laptop?

Well I have a 17 inch Dell Inspiron 9300 that just sits on my desk 24/7. Here are the specs:

• 1920 x 1200 17" screen.
• Pentium M 745 running at 2.4 Ghz (pinmod).
• 6800 GeForce Go Video Card w/ 256 Mb dedicated ram.
  
• 2 Gb Kinston Ram.
• 60 Gb 7200 rpm Hitachi HDD.
• Creative Audigy 2 ZS Notebook sound card.

To me, there is no reason to be confined to a laptops form factor if it is just going to be sitting on my desk 24/7. So to solve this dilemma, I thought I could sell this laptop and use the money I receive to pay for a new custom desktop computer. Here are some specs I was looking at on newegg.com.


I am expecting to get $800 at best for my laptop, but I definitely think this is an awesome trade-up. Let me know what you think in the comments if you wish.

Alcoa Howmet Co-Op

I have been searching for an internship for a couple months now, and I have finally found one that I am really excited about. Howmet, which is a part of Alcoa, is a company that makes metal parts for jets and turbines etc. They need a programmer to help create some applications that can take data from a database, and change it so that is in a more user friendly and readable form. Eventually that data will be put into an Excell spread sheet and then I can make some pretty charts and graphs. I should hear back from them on Tuesday so wish me luck!

Some Great Cheap College Meal Ideas

Well its summer time and my meal plan is no longer effective, and I am working an unpaid internship and a retail job, so money is scarce, but I gotta eat something. So here are a few ideas to fill your belly without emptying your wallet.

1. Collegiate Spaghetti

This recipe calls for:

-1/2 pound of pasta.
-Jar of spaghetti sauce.
-ground beef (optional).

Dishes to clean: 1-2

First, if you opted for the ground beef, toss as much as you want into a skillet and cook it until its brown all over. Next, you will want to start boiling that pasta in a largeish pot. If the pasta is too long to fit into the pot, just break it into smaller pieces. Once noodles are nice and soft, strain the pasta and then put it back into the same pot. After you have done that, add the sauce (and strained beef if you opted for it) in with the spaghetti and continue cooking until everything is well cooked. then grab a fork and eat it right out of the pot! No need to dirty another plate.

2. Frozen Meals

These are some of the cheapest and easiest meals that you can find in the grocery store. Food Lion just had an offer where one frozen meal was just $1! It really doesn't get much cheaper than that, unless you go with Ramen, which might taste good, but gets really old really fast.

3. Hamburger Helper

Hamburger Helper is probably one of the best tasting meals on this list. With all sorts of flavors and varieties, this is sure to please just about anyone. If you are not in the mood for beef, you can try Chicken Helper. I personally recommend the Chicken Fettucini Alfredo.

4. Hot Dogs and Hamburgers

Every college student should have a George Foreman Grill, no ifs ands or buts. Cooking these should be extremely simple. One way to make this meal even cheaper is to buy a loaf of bread instead of buns, because buns are simply over priced.

5. Stir Fry

These are located in your frozen foods section, and are actually pretty cheap for the amount of food they contain. The best part is that it is extremely easy to cook. Basically pour all of the contents into a skillet and cook for about 10 minutes, and thats it. They come in a ton of different varieties, and boy are they delicious!

6. Ramen Noodles

If for some reason you cannot afford any of the things I have mentioned already, then you must fall to the last resort: Ramen. Don't get me wrong I love Ramen as much as the next guy, but sometimes it gets a little bland. If you are suffering from this same Ramenitis as I often do then be sure to checkout this awesome Ramen Recipe Page: http://www.mattfischer.com/ramen/

Hopefully after reading this article you too can eat hearty even in the tightest of financial pinches.