Saturday, August 29, 2009

Back to Basics


It feels like just yesterday I was programming card games in C++, but now I'm starting to learn Java so it's back to the basics -- the obligatory "Hello World" program.

NetBeans feels similar to C++ IDEs that I've used, so navigating the menus isn't hard, and once I learn to code a bit more, I'll try and make a few of my own programs and see what I can do.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Mmm, A Fresh Cup of Java™

I'm signed up for the AP Computer Science course at my school which focuses on Java programming, so I'm going to start learning it ahead of time. The more I can learn before the class starts, the faster I'll be able to the assignments, the more time I'll have to just chill out in class/work on my own side-projects.

I'll be following the tutorials from the Java website and using the NetBeans IDE for writing and compiling my code.

Wallpapers Part 1: Spectrum

Everyone loves to have a really great wallpaper (except you crazy terminal-based Linux users). It's the first thing you see when your computer boots up and it's the last thing you see when you shut down.

It has become a bit of a hobby of mine to collect great wallpapers from around the web. I'm currently using Photobucket as my image host so you can browse through my wallpapers and download them straight from there.

I'll update my wallpaper collection (and this blog) as I find new, cool wallpapers.

Without further ado, here are some spectrum-themed wallpapers to start things off:

Zune HD





If you haven't heard, the Zune HD is Microsoft's next installment of the Zune PMP. I've been following the news of the Zune HD since the rumors began to surface back around April, and I must say this device looks like a promising contender in the PMP market.

A few of its main features are:
  • Multi-touch touchscreen
  • OLED Screen (better image, better battery life)
  • NVIDIA Tegra chipset (powerful chip with great battery life)
  • HD Radio
  • 720p output when used in conjuncture with a dock (sold separately)
  • Web browser (which might get full flash support sometime in the near future)
A list of full specs can be found here (PDF).

The Zune HD comes out September 15th and is available for pre-order from many online retailers such as Amazon and the Microsoft Store (although the pre-orders are only avaible in black for the 16gb model - $219.99 and platinum for the 32gb model - $239.99). If you order from Zune Originals after September 15th, more colors will be available.

I'm leaning towards getting one of these, although I think I'll reserve judgment until a week or two after release for some in-depth reviews. Also, I want to see what Apple has in store on September 9th at their iPod event. No doubt they'll have some announcements to try and steal some of the Zune HD's thunder. Hey, there might even be some announcements enticing enough to make me rethink the Zune, but only time will tell.