Acute Laziness

Today I woke up with an epic attack of laziness, so my "designer doctor" told me to draw.

My mixed feelings about Windows 8

Before trying Windows 8 i was going with the flow, which means hating the new Metro UI, even after trying a preview version on a Virtual Box, i hated Windows 8. I wasn't even thinking on touching Windows 8 anymore, and keep using ElmentaryOS Luna (more on Luna on a future post).

However, unintentionally, i won a Microsoft contest that granted me a participation on a World Hackathon called WOWZAPPorto, which had the purpose developing a Windows Store App in 48 hours. Even if i didn't liked windows 8 ... THIS WAS AWESOME!! A weekend where all is paid by Microsoft :D. The downside is that i had to install Windows 8 for real this time.

So, i went to MSDN and downloaded Windows8 Pro and Visual Studio 2012 for free (the best part of being a student) and this is my review...

Part 1 - The week before WOWZAP

For a new windows8 user, doesn't matter what you used before, the interface is SUPER confusing. Even after i used it for some days i wasn't sure what some corners were doing. Yap, every corner has a function, the right corners open a panel with options related with the app or/and the system, the top left brings you to the previous app (desktop is considered an app...) and the lower left goes to the Metro UI if you're on a App or brings you to the last App if you're already on Metro. This is so much confusing on the first days... i can't imagine for people that only use computers for facebook.

After trying some apps i finally understood what was the big confusion about Windows 8 and WindowsRT (the version only for ARM devices). When you install Skype App for example, it has nothing to do with the Skype we are used to, in Windows 7. This App only works on the metro side, which means you can still install the normal version on the desktop. So... basically.. you have a OS for tablets on top of your normal desktop. The metro "side" is useless on the desktop.

The good: take out the Metro UI and you have the good old Windows 7.

The bad:

• I got locked multiple times on Metro UI. 
• Metro Apps randomly crash without giving a reason, taking you back to the Metro UI.
• My normal laptop keys for volume don't work.
• The Windows app for social interaction, is mixing my friend's profile picture with other contacts.
• The User Account Control crashed some times.
• First 5 times i tried do install Visual Studio 2012 the computer went crazy. When the setup stopped responding i tried the best windows tool a guy can use - Task Manager - and guess what... it stopped responding....  -.-
• Everyone i know can't find the shutdown button on their first or second run.
• The boot manager is sooo stupid!!! I need to boot Windows 8 just to choose the OS i want to run! And if go for windows 7 i need to restart the system!! WTF!! 
• Note: everyone complains about the missing start button. This is the easiest part to get used to, no problem to me at all.

So the first days i was crazy mad when using Windows 8. 

Part 2 - WOWZAPPorto

I don't know if it was the free gums ... good free food ... free drinks or just being surround by Microsoft Student Partners and Microsoft Professionals.... but i kinda like Windows 8 now... i even wiped the windows 7 partition!

Here is the thing... when i got to the weekend i already knew my way around Windows 8 and started to do what i did in windows7 easily. Now i use some apps on the background, basically Skype and music apps. 

In WOWZAP i saw what windows 8 is really about. It's about WindowsRT and Windows Phone 8. Yep, really. The way i look to Windows8 now is different, but in a way that lets me enjoy Windows8 way more. Windows8 for me is a tool to develop apps for tablets (windowsRT) and phones (WP8). You see.. it´s very easy for a developer to write an app that works across a desktop PC, a tablet and a phone. For a developer, Windows8 is awesome!! It's very rewarding to develop apps and publish to all this users. And the best part, the development is attractive for every type of developer. You can develop apps using JavaScript or C#, you choice!! And there is also XAML to help you design your app (but i didn't explore this yet so..).

Right now i had to reinstall Windows 8 because i couldn't boot any Windows (7 or 8). Weird. I'm going to use it maybe to work (depending of the technologies I'm going to use) and Luna (Linux) for normal PC use and other type of work. 

BTW, if you get an oportunity to go to a Hackathon.. GO it's super fun!!

PS: Wouldn't be ironic if i started using Win8 just for work and Luna for games? (now with the release of steam for Linux)
xD

I made a Comic!

Motivated by a friend i didn't stop with the Stewie Vader and decided to make a little comic :)

This is my sweet home every time we have to go somewhere:

I have a wacom bamboo!!

My sister gave me her wacom bamboo, because she isn't using it anymore. So... i've been playing around with it in GIMP.... and this is the result xD:

New YouTube look (youtube with G+)

Looks like Google is going to launch a new look for youtube.

This time, YouTube focuses on merging his look with Google+. Personally i love the new clean look. Another thing that i fully support, is the change of the standard mode from "small player" to "large player". Also, the interface for playlists is much more clean and elegant.

Some people may not like one visual change that comes from G+... everything is align to the left, leaving some space at the right side of the page.

If you want to use it right now it's easy with Google Chrome (probably on FireFox too, but i didn't try it yet). Just open the console (Ctrl+Shift+J - Alt+Cmd+J in OS X) and write this command:

write: document.cookie="VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE=jZNC3DCddAk;"

And hit Enter. After you refresh the page (F5) you should see the new look.

Faenza icons and theme for Ubuntu 12.04 / 12.10

There is a new icon set and theme for Ubuntu from Matthieu James, the creator of Faenza. Personally i love it, and it will make my Ubuntu more beautifull (untill i change to ElementaryOS Luna).

Just add the dedicated PPA, install it and use GNOME Tweak Tool to set your new icons and theme:

• sudo add-apt-repository ppa:tiheum/equinox
• sudo apt-get update 
• sudo apt-get install faenza-icon-theme faience-*

Update

So... i'm getting a break from school till february. However i'm going to try and post everything i do, tech and project related. just need to stop beeing lazy

Creating an Android App with Google Maps Integration (Part 2)

Regarding the part 1 of this tutorial: from this point i'm going to start using Android 2.3.3 on the emulator because the Android 4.0.3 gave me some problems.

Adding a mapView to your Android App

• First we need to tell to our app where is library for the google maps. Go to the AndroidManifest.xml file and under <application> add this:

<uses-library android:name="com.google.android.maps" />

• Now, because we want to get the maps from google we need to the app to access the internet. To do that we also need to add this line under the <manifest>:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />

• Go to the res/layout/main.xml file and replace all the xml with this one:
• Now we need to get the Maps API key to insert on "Insert Maps API key here". To do that open the command line, go to the directory of the debug keystore (if you don't now yours go to eclipse preferences) and run this comand:
• If it asks about a password just press enter.
• You should see now a MD5 hash. Copy it and paste it in here to register your key: https://developers.google.com/android/maps-api-signup
• Now you have your key to insert on the App. Do it.
• Go to the main activity (mine is FoursquareMapActivity) and extend the class to MapActivity.
• From here we just need to override some methods and add two lines of code to add zoom in and out buttons:
• If you have errors in your code press "Ctrl + left shift + O" to add the imports that may be missing.
• If you have your emulator running you can run your app and see the google maps working :).
• To add a little more space we can take out the main title by going to the manifest and add this line 

  android:theme="@android:style/Theme.NoTitleBar"

  inside <activity>

Creating an Android App with Google Maps Integration (Part 1)

Creating apps for Android

For developing in Android i'm using Eclipse IDE, and there is almost any difference in using it on Linux as in Windows, so, this tutorial should work for both OS's.

First thing to do is download the Android SDK and the ADT Plugin for Eclipse. However, i'll not cover that (for now). It should be easy if you follow this instructions:

• Android SDK: http://developer.android.com/sdk/installing.html
• ADT: http://developer.android.com/sdk/eclipse-adt.html#installing

(...after that is done...)

Go to the Window menu and open the Android SDK Manager.

Select the folder Tools and select one Android version. I'm using the Android 4.0.3 (API 15) (you can select any of them, but if you want to develop an app that works in every single android phone you should choose Android 1.5). After you select everything you want, click the Install packages button, select accept all and proceed.

Now we can create our project.

• Go to the menu File, then New and click Project...
• Select the folder Android, then Android Project and click the Next button.
• In the project name write the name of your project. Mine is "FoursquareMap" (because i'm going to use this to write about the foursquare API in the future).
• You can ignore the rest and click Next.
• Now, here is where you should select the android version for witch you are developing. However we are not going to select Android x.x.x because we want to make an google maps app. So to do this, choose Google API's, but be sure to select the google API with the API Level that you want (for example the API Level for android 4.0.3 is API Level 15).
• In the next window, choose the name of your application, your package name and click Finish.

And just like that, we have an app for android. To test first we need to create an emulator to run it.

• Go to the menu Window, and open AVD Manager.
• Click New, give it a name, for example, "my_avd".
• And in target choose the Google API with the API Level that you want.
• Click Create AVD.
• Select the just created AVD and click on the button Start and then the button launch.
• Wait for the AVD to complete his initialization (when you reach the lock screen like if you were on a real android device).

• Go back to eclipse, run your project and go back to the AVD. In a few seconds it should launch your app.

Creating a ASP.NET Web Service (C#) in Visual Studio 2010

Creating the Web Service

1. Go to the File menu, New and click New Web Site. 
2. In the text box where is defined the location (ex: http://localhost/WebSite ), change "WebSite" to the name that you want for the Web Service. I'm going to use, PoolService, so, "http://localhost/PoolSerives".
3. Select Visual C# in the installed templates, and proceed to select ASP.NET Web Service. Click OK

Now if you have IIS working and you press CTRL + F5, something like this should appear. HelloWorld is a method from your, just created, web service.

Now to add some more methods...   

Adding Methods to the Web Service

What we have now is a web service called "Service". Let's add another web service.

1. In Solution Explorer, right-click the Web site name (http://localhost/PoolServices), and then click Add New Item.
2. Under the Visual C# Installed Templates, select Web Service, and change the name. I'm going to use the name Calc.asmx
3. Make sure you don't forget to check the box Place code in separate file, and click Add.
4. Now open the Calc.cs file and add this code inside the Class Calc, for exemple after the HelloWorld method:
5. Now if you press CTRL + F5 again you should see the "Add" method next to the "helloworld" method. If you click it, you should see two text boxes. This text boxes represent the two variables that we require for the "add" method, and if you invoke the method after typing the numbers, a xml file will appear with the result.
6. You can add more methods, for example, add a method to subtract the numbers. just below the add method (don't forget that every method requires writing [WebMethod] before his definition).

Adding a Web Service to another Project

Now the cool part. Now that we have a web service with one method (or more), we can use it in another projects giving real use to the Web Service. Go to the File menu, New and click New Web Site. 

1. Go to the File menu, New and click "Project..." 
2. On C# installed Templates, select Windows Forms Application, give it a name and click OK.
3. With the Design layout add 2 textbox, 1 button and a label (you can find them in the Toolbox). 
4. With the help of the Properties window change the name of the button to "addBtn".
5. Now, go to the Solution Explorer, right-click the name of the project, and then click "Add Service Reference...".
6. In the address textbox insert the path to your webservice. For exemple: "http://localhost/PoolServices/Calc.asmx" click Go to test it, and it should appear your service in the "Services:" zone. by expanding the service found, you can see his methods on the "Operations:" zone. Define the namespace for the Service (ServiceCalc for example) and click OK.
7. To add the code in the form double click on the button that was just created with the name "addBtn". Add this code to the addBtn_Click method: 
8. CTRL + F5 and it should work :)

How To Install Java 7 In Ubuntu 12.04

Because we are using old software in my school, my professor advised not to install java 7 and instead we should use java 6. However, im going to use java 7 for two reasons:

• Im going to use java for developing android apps.
• Java 6 is reaching its end of life;
• And Oracle has decided to nullify any license allowing distros to maintain Java in their repos;

So, the easiest way i found to install java 7:

1. Add this PPA's:



2. Install and enter the config:
   



3. And set witch jvm will you use:
   

Kudos to webupd8 and Eugene San

Confirm that java is installed by typing "java -version" and "javac -version"

Now... like me, you may want to define your $JAVA_HOME and $PATH variables

By default your java should be in "/usr/lib/jvm/java-7-oracle" (if not, don't worry, use your directory).
Open your terminal and type "sudo nano /etc/bash.bashrc"* (im using "nano" but you can use "gedit" or other editor).
Add this lines to the end of the file:
"export JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/java-7-oracle"
"export PATH=$PATH:$JAVA_HOME/bin"

Save it and close it. To confirm that everything is working, log out and log in again, open a terminal and type: "echo $JAVA_HOME". The output should be something like "/usr/lib/jvm/java-7-oracle".

*if the variable is not set try using the file "~/.bashrc" instead of  "/etc/bash.bashrc"

Just a netbook

This is simply a way to keep track of all the things that i learn from school, the "internets" and the wilds.