More and more collaboration!

At this time of the night, it amazes me to realize that we (UPACM council) are working simultaneously on our website using a Solaris SPARC, a Mac OS X PPC, and a Windows laptop as our workstations (no Linux?). In the past weeks, we had also tried using Writely to update a spreadsheet/text file.

Anyway, I need to return to work again. Just plugging in. haha.

Java in Manila

I just got home from attending the Java in Manila event at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel. Somehow, the setup was just like the Sun Tech Days event 2 years ago where I had also participated into by being one of the volcorps. This time, everything was compressed into a day separated into tracks or sessions as expected. I would say that the dominant feature of the topics was into web development, to be specific, Web 2.0 technology.

The event was really full of surprises. Some minutes before the start of the event, there was a group dressed into maroon-colored outfits – the UP Pep Squad! Since we have arrived early at the location, we have chosen the table at the middle spot directly in front of the stage. I was also shocked when I saw a friend of mine that was also with the pep group. They were rehearsing in front as I started to eat the breakfast meal for the event. (I guess I was the first to have it inside, haha)

The event started with Matt Thompson's Sun Plenary Presentation followed by the Sun Technical Keynote Demo of the Java Technology Evangelists. The JEDI project was featured in Matt's plenary presentation and the keynote demo included cool stuffs such as walkthroughs in the Looking Glass, creating Google Maps via Java Studio Creator, and using the Netbeans Profiler.

The turn of events was somehow delayed, but it sort of stabilized during/after the lunch session. Maybe we (Wigi and Vanie) were just excited to go to the tracks – we were too late already to join the Coding Challenge. There was also a contest: "Install-to-Win Promo" where one of the installers to be given to each person is the winning CD. To determine which CD, you need to install it and it should have the splash screen that you are the winner. The prize? A Sun Ultra 20 Developer Workstation! Well, we didn't have the chance to try installing it because we also attempted to finish the yellow card – the card where you need to complete it by getting the stamp marks from each company booth to be able to join the raffle.

Freebies? I got a foldable bag, a Sun ID strap (along with the nametag), a Sun collared shirt, Sun Java Studio Enterprise 8 DVD (enclosed on a cool cd case), and a ballpen from one of the booths. Actually, I really wanted to have that 2-in-1 jacket!

Right now, I'm wondering when and where the next Java event will be.. What do you think?

Ubuntu Dapper Drake 6.06 Beta

I'm now using Ubuntu Dapper Drake 6.06 Beta! The upgrade process took only about 2 hours to download the packages and 1.5 hours to unpack and install each of it. The upgrade from Ubuntu 5.10 was simple – it didn't touched any of my data files excluding my configurations, obviously. At least, I get to experience the latest release of such an OS without the need to reformat everything unlike some OS I know.

So what are you waiting for, upgrade to Dapper now!

GIMP Mosaic Plugin

Some of my friends were looking for a photo image mosaic creator but look what I've got in here:

The image mosaic of Duke was made by using the GIMP image mosaic plugin. Amazing? Is it a great or even better substitute for Photoshop?

Slowband

Point said.

Firefox 3.0

Right now, I'm trying to publish this post using Firefox 3.0 Alpha 1, codename Minefield. Hours earlier, my Firefox 1.5.X prompted me to update to 1.5.0.2. Amazing? Yes! And I have 3 versions installed on my system: 1.0.7 (Ubuntu's default Firefox), 1.5.0.2 (latest stable), and 3.0! Firefox 3.0 was great (it's fast!) although as expected, not all of my extensions and themes were compatible to this version.

At least I get to switch to any version of Firefox anytime I want to. I just wonder how this situation will be in a Windows platform.. Will I have the same comfortability or easiness to test unstable software releases?

Something More

It begins quietly enough: A sudden sadness about things, a strange light in the most ordinary place, or just a vague suspicion that something fresh is waiting to be discovered somewhere.

Am I hoping for something more?

It's been a long long while since I last saw or heard the songs from this album. The only thing that I can remember from the past is giving this to a very close friend of mine as a gift or some sort of remembrance. I hope that she still has this in hand (and gets to read this blog post too).

Reviewing the album, it is very relaxing to hear the entire playlist in one sitting. The songs were great for it comforts the feeling of loneliness and sadness of an individual. Actually, I consider this as one of my recommended albums that is worth listening to.

For the meantime, I will be looking for some of its songs' lyrics in the web.

Maging Akin Muli

Argh! I have just let another movie pass today – have only seen the last 3 minutes of it. Sigh. Well, the thing that caught my attention to it was the title because it was a religious song made by the Jesuits and it was being aired tonight. The song is one of my favorites as well.

Current Music: Maging Akin Muli

Socio!

At last, I was able to finish my enrollment yesterday even though I was somehow not satisfied with the outcome of my enlistment. On the lighter side, my load this summer is only 3 units – took up Socio 10. The dilemma I had earlier was to choose between Socio 10 (7-9am) or Socio 101 (11-1pm) – both of which were in my CRS enlistment result. At least, I get to feel a lighter feeling this summer as the weather gets hotter. I just need to sleep early (?) so that I'll be able to make it on time for my class.

A friend of mine has only a subject for this summer – PE Social Dancing. Now, imagine if I had enlisted Social Dancing PE, Socio 10, and Socio 101.. Will that make me more sociable? What do you think?

SAKSIhan – Titanic: The Sequel

Finally, I know now how to make the flash embed feature to work. Special thanks to the "Force" as source of motivation.