I hate programming windows apps. Seriously. This was the first weekend I really started writing windows specific code, instead of simply C code that compiles on Windows. And I hated it.

I hate their API, I hate their grossly ineffective and bloated structures, I hate the backassward stuff you have to do to make a message handler for console based programs. But most of all, I hate their naming conventions. dwButtons, szName? Hungarian Notation is teh suck.

I want to punch the guy who designed MSDN. Right in the face.

[sigh...]

] OpenXM is a program developed to interface the XMPCR XM
] Radio Personal Computer Radio. Windows software existed,
] but nothing had been developed for the unit for the Linux
] environment yet. I decided to start a project to make
] something functional enough for my own needs.
]
] Currently OpenXM Works on many different environments
] including the Win32 Platform and Linux Machines. It
] should work on any machine that has a current release of
] Perl on it and USB Drivers for the FTDI USB-Serial
] Chipset.
]
] The program has a few different interfaces. There is a
] terminal program that takes exclusive control of the
] unit, and there is a Client/Daemon interface that allows
] control from multiple clients. Included in the package is
] a web-client and a basic command line client.

I wanted OSS, and so I have it!

OpenXM Development Page

] XM radio to the power of MacOS X.

Nice site about interfacing one of those $50 XM radios for a PC to a Mac. Its OSS and in java, and would provide some interesting insight into how XM, and specifically, XM on a computer works.

While it sucks to see thats happening to the guy for who made the software to record XM, he was making a profit. I'd love to see an Open Source version of this software.

MacXM - Connecting a XM USB radio to a Mac

] The software, TimeTrax, also neatly arranged the individual
] songs from the concert, complete with artist name and song
] title information, into MP3 files
] A spokesman for the Recording Industry Association of
] America said his organization had not reviewed the
] software, but said that in principle it was disturbed by
] the idea. "We remain concerned about any devices or
] software that permit listeners to transform a broadcast
] into a music library," RIAA spokesman Jonathan Lamy said.

How fucked up is this? They want us to build a music library as long as the grainularity we do it at is $20 dollar a pop CDs, but any other way is forbidden? The RIAA seems to be jumping on the (very bad IMHO) train of anti-ownership. You don't own anything you buy! You are leasing it, or renting it, or whatever the fuck. Its the original DIVX all over again. Suddenly its totally illegal to do anything to "own" or keep a copy in anyway.

How the hell did we let this happen?

Homegrown satellite radio software draws XM fire

] Earlier, before being clawed by Kerry's reps, we spoke to
] "Daily Show" executive producer Ben Karlin, a charming
] man who did not take offense at our questions and who
] promised that the Comedy Central program would try
] especially hard to resemble an actual TV news show
] tonight during its Kerry encounter.
]
]
] "All of us [on 'The Daily Show'] are just blown away by
] the turn the campaign has taken," Karlin said. "We cannot
] believe that this is what is being talked about at this
] juncture. It's so astounding to us. We are trying to work
] through our amazement and to conduct a meaningful
] conversation absent of incredulity, because [the
] interview] is not going to go anywhere if you just say,
] 'What the [expletive] is going on?' "
]
] "If you just want to pinpoint the success of the
] Republican Party and Bush, this is a perfect case study,"
] Karlin continued, "because George W. Bush has put a
] moratorium on talk about his behavior under the age of 40
] and everyone [in the press] is abiding by it. 'Were you
] or were you not an alcoholic or did you just have a
] drinking problem?,' 'Were you or were you not a drug
] abuser?' Meanwhile they're debating whether [Kerry's war]
] wounds drew blood or were they superficial, or occurred
] in the same day, or whether he shot a guy wearing a toga.
] . . . How is that possible?"

This whole thing is so stupid its sickening, and its nice to see the Daily Show weigh in on it. (Bold is mine)

Kerry on 'Daily Show'

] It's the Internet Revolution meets the Industrial
] Revolution: a new program that lets people design 3-D
] objects like car parts and door knobs in metal or plastic
] then order them online.
]
] Programs for computer-aided design, or CAD, have been
] around for decades, but eMachineShop.com appears to be
] the first service that checks whether a design can be
] made, tells the customer how much it will cost. If the
] customer wants the item the design goes to a "real world"
] machine shop for manufacturing.

For years I've had to put off projects because while I had access to a rather complete wood shop, and didn't have access to a metal working machine shop. Nice to technology filling this niche.

Internet machine shop offers custom tooling

] The star is like our sun and just 50 light-years away. A
] light-year is the distance light travels in a year, about
] 6 trillion miles (10 trillion kilometers). Most of the
] known extrasolar planets are hundreds or thousands of
] light-years distant.
]
] The star, mu Arae, is visible under dark skies from the
] Southern Hemisphere. It harbors two other planets. One is
] Jupiter-sized and takes 650 days to make its annual trip
] around the star. The other planet, whose existence was
] confirmed with the help of the new observations, is
] farther out.
]
] The three-planet setup, with one being rocky, is unique.
]
] "It's much closer to our solar system than anything we've
] found so far," said Alan Boss, a planet-formation
] theorist at the Carnegie Institution in Washington.

Space is cool.

Earth-like planet discovered 50 light-years away

Selected pilots spend about two months building their homemade human powered flying machines and creating their pre launch show.

On event day... expect to be wowed as you witness wannabee pilots attempt to achieve flight... or at the very least a couple laughs and cheers from the crowd!!

Hell. Yes.

Flügtag is Flying Day!

A nice piece about how to sue in small claims court for a Microsoft refund from Linuxjournal.

] Judge: The defendant didn't show up, but Mr. Oualline you
] still have to prove your case. You say that they owe you
] some money. Why?
]
] Me: I bought a computer from them, and when I booted it
] up it displayed a license agreement with a long list of
] restrictions that limited what I could do with my
] computer. It also said that if I didn't agree with the
] license agreement, I could get a refund.
]
] Judge: I take it you didn't get your refund.
]
] Me: They sent me an e-mail yesterday offering me one, but
] it was only for the software. I want my court costs too.
]
] Judge: You removed the software from your system.
]
] Me: Yes.
]
] Judge: You installed something else.
]
] Me: I installed Linux.
]
] Judge: Judgment for the plaintiff.

HAHA! If I buy another x86 system, I totally need to try this.

Getting a Windows Refund in California Small Claims Court

] "I don't use Windows and asked my OEM for the refund,
] they have no idea what I'm talking about"
]
] Most customer support personel, supervisors, and managers
] that work within the sales departments of these major
] OEMs are not educated in this issue. First off, they've
] probably never actually read the agreement and secondly
] are not encountered with this situation as much as they
] should be. In other words, they don't have a procedure in
] place to deal with this. However, This does not mean that
] you are not entitled to your refund.

A refund for uninstalling Windows from a purchased computer?

WindowsRefund.net :: Get your refund