I really want to get a Tablet PC, but I just haven't seen a model that's right yet. However, I have found a handheld that's just awesome: The Dell Axim 50v. Check out these specs:

* 3.7” Screen
* 640x480 resolution @ 16bpp // YES, that's full VGA resolution
* 624 MHz Intel Xscale PXA270 processor
* 128 MB Flash ROM and 64 MB SDRAM memory with XMB (cross media bar) on-screen navigation to access memory
* Integrated 802.11b Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 1.2
* Intel 2700G multimedia accelerator with 16 MB of video memory, providing DVD-quality video playback and supporting dual display capability for professional presentations
* VGA-Out (extra)
* Integrated CompactFlash Type II and Secure Digital / SDIO Now! / MMC card slots
* Headset / headphone jack (cell phone replacement anyone?)
* Full duplex 16-bit 44.1 Khz audio

Now THAT's a lot of handheld for $500.

Writing the Turing ASIX brought me back to a really sore spot in ASP.NET 2: Lack of a good compilation model. In ASP.NET 1.x, you could compile all your code (*.cs) into an assembly, and you were set. Here's why I hate the new “code-beside” and “dynamic compilation” models as they are implemented in VS 2005:

--Deployment/content editing nightmare
Before, I could drop the DLL on the server, *have no source code* on the server, and allow someone else (i.e., my client), to edit the ASPX/ASCX content. In a few cases where I wanted to expose code to him, I could make a virtual method in the base class, and allow him to override it via C# code in a <SCRIPT> block. With the new VS 2005 model, my scenario is blown away and destroyed.

--Access to code means huge, ugly, hackish workarounds
Before, if I made a page/class/control/whatever in any part of my app, I could reference this from any other part. For instance, my Turing image generator. I have two statics on it that any page can call. I want that code to be in Turing.asix.cs (or in the .asix). But I can't! I am required to put it in the /Code directory for no reason at all. Maybe this was done because of the “web programmers” who think HTML is a programming language. Maybe it was to act as a ward to scare of people who are afraid of code. I can't figure it out. All I know is that it pisses me off. This problem is more serious than just my annoyance about moving one file.

Suppose I'm working on a larger site, and to keep things in line, I organize the site into various folders. Now say I'm in something like /TheSite/SomeArea/HierarchialViews. I have a few ASCX controls there, but they all share some common code (some enums, and some pure code classes that help with the sorting or organization for the views (say, something that generates a generic tree to be consumed). Where do I put the code? Well, with this new model, I've got to put it in /TheSite/CODE/SomeArea/HierarchialViews. In other words, I'm required to duplicate my entire site organization inside the Code directory, just because... um, well, I haven't found a decent reason yet.

The ASP.NET/VWD/whatever team should NOT be making these kinds of decisions for developers. Visual Studio should be a tool that we can use to write apps how we want to write them. This model worked fine for 1.x. Why has it become so hideous that they needed to REMOVE it from 2.0? With all the huge advances ASP.NET 2 and VS2005 take, why must they take this big jump backwards? Couldn't they just leave it in and say “You can do this, but we really recommend using a Code folder so you don't lose track of your .cs files.”??

The only *partial* reason for this behaviour that I can tell is the move to partial classes. Since it's a partial class, it needs the rest of the code generated from the ASP.NET runtime to compile. *I* was quite happy with the inheritance model used before. While partial classes are nice, *I* don't see any personal benefit in using them if it's going to introduce problems like this. At any rate, that still doesn't explain why I can't have a Foo.cs inside any directory (not just the /Code directory) and be able to use it.

Just got back from LA, where I was attending the Internet Telephony conference. Just when I thought things couldn't get more exciting, my wife tells me: “I'm pregnant.”. Very cool. Can't say much more than that it's completely amazing and quite exciting.

Today I was coding a site, and I realised I needed an easy way to avoid automatic signups. So, I did what everyone else does: added a Turing image. Since I was coding in ASP.NET 2.0, I thought it'd be nice to try out the new ASIX image generator type page.

It's pretty nifty. Nothing that you couldn't do with an ASHX in about 5 minutes, but still pretty cool. What I like is that the template starts you off right where you can start coding against the Graphics object. This will definately make entry much easier for people who aren't as comfortable with these classes. In the past I've normally been against things like this (i.e., a whole set of code just to save some minor work for one specific case), but I think this was a pretty good thing to add.

Download the code here: Turing.cs.txt. This is for ASP.NET 2.0 -- just create a new ASIX and point it at the Turing class. But, it should be pretty simple to hook it up into ASP.NET 1.1. If anyone seems interested, or somehow I get more free time, I'll post the required ASHX handler. Anyways, from ASP.NET 2, all you need in your main page is this code:

I went downtown to the newest mall built in Guatemala: Miraflores -- yet another example of a design that'd make anyone with any amount of architectural sense sick. Built by the bright people over at spectrum.com.gt. At any rate, being somewhat bored, I decided to watch a movie. The theatres in the new mall aren't that bad.

As I walk into the mall, I see a very interesting sign: No pets, guns, cameras or video cameras allowed. While I can understand the first two items (although, seeing a rabid Akita hunting people in a Gap would be amusing), what crackhead came up with the new [video] camera idea?

At the information desk, I verified that indeed, they did mean no cameras allowed. What possible premise? Security. Apparently taking photographs of public places is somehow a threat. So I pushed a bit more... “How exactly does this improve our security?” “Um... hmm... uh, I think there was a problem at another mall, so they're just doing it in case.” In other words: “no freaking clue”. I also asked if they check people for cell phones, since you could have a camera phone and covertly take pictures. She assured me they'd find people doing that and confiscate their phones.

Later on I find out that the cinema has a $500 reward (which is probably 2x the monthly salary of the people working at the cinema), for finding anyone recording the movies. At the beginning of movies, they play a stupid commercial about not to pirate movies, and compare it to stealing a car (again showing how spaced out the MPAA is). They actually have people with night-vision scoping the audience out during the entire showing.

Now, I'm aware that they do this in the states. The stupid part is that in the USA, movies come out before you can buy them on DVD, download DVD-rips (ok, not always), or rent them at your local movie rental store. Not so in Guatemala. The movie industry is quite backwards, and releases shows much later in different parts of the world (hence their retarded DVD region coding crap). Well, by the time a movie hits Guatemalan theatres *there is no market for screeners of that movie*!

I selected one movie to watch, but my sister told me they had rented it two weeks ago. Others I had seen in theatres in the USA or downloaded DVD-rips of months ago. Some were even at Blockbuster, less than 1km away. All of them are readily available by street vendors (in your choice of VCD or DVD). Yet they still find it necessary to go to extra lengths and “prohibit” cameras to stop this huge screener racket. Silliness. I'm sad to think that some of the population here might A) actually believe them B) not be offended that a company tries to take away their freedom to carry a camera around.

In the sake of prosperity for the country, I'm planning some fun with these people:
1: Photograph and chart the entire mall.
2: Post pictures and schematics here. [For added bonus, mark up the schematics with writing in a script they don't understand.]
3: Distribute flyers at the mall with a URL; email Spectrum.
4: Enjoy the response.
And:
1: Get some empty rolls of toilet paper or other cardboard items.
2: Add a red LED to these items.
3: Distribute at the theatre.
4: Watch employees go nutty thinking they're going to get $50,000 in reward money.
5: Have even more fun when I refuse to surrender my cardboard box.

Just need to find the time...

I opened Windows Media Player 10 (which STILL doesn't have a shuffle feature that works) and saw this:

Kalea is a furniture store in Guatemala that pretends to be more upscale and “cool”. Some of their items are pretty nice, others are just marked up 300% for no reason. At any rate, for a while, they had no functional website (just an “under construction” page). Well, I recently checked their site (www.kalea.com.gt), and was joyed to find out that, alas, they have a product listing. Yay! Now I could see if there is anything new or good to buy without driving downtime and wasting time in the store. Was I wrong.

First, the product gallery consists of one crappy photo of the product. Second, the description (in all caps for no apparent reason), consists of one short line, such as “Wooden console. Metal legs. Polished wood finish.” This, coupled with the crappy pictures, ensures you have no idea what the product is. I've looked at tables and I have no clue if they are small two-foot night stands or great hall dining tables. Silly. But even so, I could probably get some clue if they had a product I was interested, and then go down to the store to inspect and buy. Not quite.

Kalea has decided NOT to put prices on their site. Instead, they expect you to “request a quote” for every item you might be interested in. Now, their prices range from $30 - $1500 (or more) for furniture, and sometimes their prices are just outright crazy (say, their rugs, which are 3 times more expensive than the exact same rug in a store across the street). Thus, knowning the price becomes even more critical. “Hey, that looks like a nice light. Oh wait, $300 for a lamp? Forget it.” Also, before sending a quote, they ask you to fill in a form full of your info (rather than just an email address). So, I wrote them “Why the hell are there no prices”? Here's their response (they responded in English):

”Thanks for writing. The registration is needed so we can have your real information. Our website is intended for information only, this is a e-business site and not e-commerce site. If you can see, the cart is used to make a quote (Cotización), we will receive the list of products that you are interested on, and in a short time we will send you an email with the quote. We are using our site as a catalogue of products, they can be at sale, promotion, or not in store (but we can export them for you), so the prices may vary, and that is why we don´t post them.”

Don't you love that last line? I guess they've never heard of databases that have the UPDATE command, or perhaps that you can actually edit data. Also amusing is the phrase “this is a e-business site and not e-commerce site“, as if I'm supposed to say “Oh, I'm sorry; now I understand.“ Sigh.
 

Had to handle my first support incident from XP SP2's great bug ^H^H^H^H feature that is TCP throttling. Somewhere, MS started listening to Steve Gibson when it comes to security. So they turned off RAW socket support in XP SP2 and added TCP throttling. TCP throtting was added late in the game (I'm pretty sure it was at RC1 or later).

While there's no real reason to do these things, MS claims it adds security, because when a virus runs, it's absolutely impossible for it to use it's own driver or get around “safeguards” like this, right? Sigh... MS usually had well thought out security measures, always keeping in mind if malicious code is running as admin -- it can do anything! At any rate, XP SP2 limits the number of pending TCP connections to 10. Yes, 10.

More than security, it sounds like MS wanted to cripple P2P networks, as a 10 pending connection limit certainly does hurt many implementations. For instance, with eDonkey. I request a file, and get say 300 sources. I'll need to contact each source and get added to the queue. Well, 300 sources * many files = LOTS of connections needed. Since many of the sources could be slow to respond (throw in high latency connections (ever use a satellite?)), or simply offline and timeout, the 10 connection limit gets hit within seconds (I have eMule set to 512 connections max, with 128 per 5 seconds).  Even the defaults are high enough to hit this silly limit.

So today I get a call saying that Outlook won't contact my email server, and after this, the have to reboot their computer to access the Internet. After a bit of chat, I figure out it's XP SP2 being “helpful”, but limiting this guy's network software. The solution? Tell him to google for a hacked TCPIP.sys that gives him unlimited connections. (I'd love to post it here, but I think it'd be a legal issue. Maybe instructions on how to patch your TCPIP.sys file would be OK... At any rate, use google. Also, Neowin had a file in their forums for unlimited connections (other patches increase it to only 50)).

Great job -- forcing average users into downloading cracked system DLLs just to get basic functionality. Oh yea, and not accomplishing anything regarding security either. Fun.

A while ago a friend showed me some great TTS software online. But I couldn't fine it again. But I did find this: http://www.research.att.com/projects/tts/demo.html From AT&T research comes text-to-speech that sounds quite realistic. Go try it out (they have US English, UK English, German and French). Now if only MS would start shipping these voices instead of Microsoft Sam...

One thing that really annoys me about the VC++ editor is that when you collapse something, say a method, it eats up all the lines around it, until the next non-whitespace line. So when you look at your file collapsed, you see all declarations all together, and at least I have a problem reading that easily.

However, here's a simple trick to get around it. Throw a tab in a line. The collapsed region stops consuming when it finds a tab, and thus you can get the appearance of separation with everything collapsed. Nice.

30Mbps to your house:
http://www22.verizon.com/ForYourHome/Fios/packagePrice.asp
A tad pricey perhaps, but at least it's a start. Meanwhile, down here, I'm paying $229/mo for 512k...well, I will be, whenever they come to install (perhaps a month).

I just found a feature that probably few people use, relative to the number of total Word users. Even though I'm running English Windows XP, my default IME is Korean. By pressing right-alt, I can switch between Roman and Hangeul mode.

However, every now and then, I forget to switch, and end up typing (and usually sending, since it's IRC or IM), English, but in Hangeul mode. So, if I were to write, “Hi, how are you?”, it'd come out as “ㅗㅑ, ㅙㅈ ㅁㄱㄷ ㅛㅐㅕ?” The same is in reverse. If I was to say “언녕!” it'd write “dkssud!”.

What's cool is the Word is smart enough to recognize this common mistake, since “dkssud” or “ㅗㅑ, ㅙㅈ ㅁㄱㄷ ㅛㅐㅕ” are extremely rare sequences in those alphabets, but common in the other one. So Word automatically corrects the text, and flips your mode. End result? You don't need to worry about switching manually, even if your document uses both English and Korean. Very cool.

I've had it mess up on me one time (in fact, since it's such a transparent feature, I only *thought* it existed before -- I'd type something and think that it flashed and flipped over, but never really tested it) -- typing “cmd”, as in a “.cmd file”, triggers it and it outputs “층” (cheung) instead.

Actually, I've been here for over a week now... or has it been two?

What's bad is that the house (and more importantly, the Internet connection) that were promised to us turned out not be available. So meanwhile I'm on a DirecWay (yuck!) connection and a CDMA (interesting) connection. Both are slow. Both have high ping times. The CDMA connection is better than DirecWay, but it's still lacking. The cool thing is that a simple USB/PCMCIA card can connect at 128k to 2Mbps almost anywhere in the country, for only $50 a month!

Coming to Guatemala now seems a lot different than it did the first time I got here (Almost 7 years ago). More correctly, Guatemala hasn't changed much (OK, widespread Internet and cell phone access apart), but I've changed a lot. Living in Atlanta for 6 months really got me comfy on some things (like high speeds, or being able to actually order stuff online). Other things I had gotten so used to in Guatemala and then Atlanta, I've just noticed them more. Here are some random items:

-Driving. I don't have a driver's license, so I only drove once or twice while in Atlanta. Even then, it was only for a few minutes, and rather nervously. (My brother insists that you don't need a license or insurance to drive in the states, but I'm pretty sure they'd arrest you.) In Guatemala, I can use my own printed license or a few dollars. A few years ago I was stopped with no license or registration at all. After indignantly claiming I didn't need a license, the six cops settled for about $7, and even offered me change. I have a friend here who has used his university student ID card as a drivers license and it works fine. Of course, driving again just reminds me how much I hate driving (well, more specifically, traffic).

-Slow pace/bureaucratic . The USA, being quite consumer-oriented, seems to move quite fast for many products and services. Call Comcast, give them your address/phone number, and they're there in a few days installing your Internet connection (OK, YMMV :) ). Down here, it just takes longer for everything. DSL? Fill out 5 pages of paperwork, sign a 1 year contract, etc. etc. Then they might install in a month. For the Bellsouth CDMA access we have they wanted 3 bank statements, legal ownership papers and a whole slew of other stuff -- all this for a $50/month service and about $100 in hardware. Just a different pace to adjust to -- probably better for your health.

-Different freedom. While Guatemala's laws are complex and strict on some things (for instance, making an invoice requires the government to approve the design of your invoice), they are usually marginalized because of lack of enforcement or corruption (the oil of bureaucracy). I drive a 89 Jeep Korando, which wouldn't pass any inspection of anything, yet it's not a problem. I'll leave my Internet connection on (when I get a real one) eMule 24/7 and never worry about the MPAA/RIAA suing me. Of course, there's downsides to this (i.e., don't make strong enemies, since the police aren't gonna do much about it). The interesting thing is the odd things that might be enforced. For instance, broadcast on an unlicensed frequency (and almost all frequencies are licensed here), and the telecommunications agency will triangulate you and fine you quite quickly. Also, you can get stopped and fined for driving while talking on a cell phone (however driving a vehicle with no doors, exhaust like a burning oil field, and no headlights, will hardly get you noticed).

-Homogeneous environment/culture. In the states, you find all sorts of people. Companies and people must be somewhat politically correct in some areas. It's harder to make assumptions about people in the states (say, which holidays they celebrate). In Guatemala, you have essentially two groups: the Mayans and the Latinos. Inside the two groups, a lot of common thought is shared. Nothing surprising really, it's just that you don't see this as much in the states since there's quite a bit more of a mixture, and here there's a lot less diversity: I've seen perhaps 10 black people in Guatemala city and the surrounding areas (go towards Belize and of course this changes) in the years I've been here. Once I saw a company van (a photo company) driving around with loudspeakers playing a common anti-gay song at full volume. I highly doubt they got any complains.

-Radio/TV suck. Oh wait, that's not differnet. They suck in the states too. Although, I'm able to get Korean TV included in the cheap ($10) cable package (unlike Comcast, who wants $15/mo for *one* channel more).

-Money. Basic living costs are much cheaper (rent, food, etc.). However, go above that, and you get gouged. The big electronics store down here (related to Sony) sells the same equipment for about double or triple the cost of what'd you'd in the states. Telgua wants $150 for a 128K ADSL line with a public IP ($50 a month if you want private). MS Office 2002 retails for $500+ at Office Depot here. Also, good luck on finding a GeForce 6800. Yet, you could get an Oracle DBA with 8 years of experience for probably $2000 or $3000 a month.

-Armed guards. Something I'm so used to I almost forgot: armed guards. Everywhere. At the bank in Atlanta, I think the guard had a pointy stick and a .22. Here, the guard at the postal office had some mean-looking automatic assault rifle. Pretty much any mall, store or any place with anything of any value will have really-armed guards. After a bit they just start to blend in. And in reality, I doubt they help that much. I worked on restoring bank robbery footage, and the poor bank guard in one attack couldn't even pull his pistol out in time. Also, the thieves are similarly (or more -- in one video, they came in with some machine gun type thing that was around 150cm long), and have the element of surprise. In fact, I'm not even sure how a guard would use an assault rifle in a mall or a bank. Police are armed like that too (once I got stopped on foot by police -- by having their uzi stuck into my back), but they've got some training at least.

-Security. Since the police force is not an effective deterrent (since the response is not that great), a lot of focus is put on prevention. This is directly in constrast to the states, where prevention is hardly anything, and everything is based on detection and response. Almost all houses will have a wall around them, some with razor wire or perhaps broken glass on top. Driving around in Atlanta's suburbs seemed so strange, since you could look, or walk, right into people's houses. Also, I've yet to see many residential windows that don't have iron bars across them. Having homes be like mini-fortresses just seems natural after a while.

Those are just some differences, some nice, some not-so-nice, that I've noticed. I'll try to remember some others.