Tim Anderson's ITWriting http://www.itwriting.com/blog Tech writing blog Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:43:15 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 China’s Tianhe-2 Supercomputer takes top ranking, a win for Intel vs Nvidia http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7461-chinas-tianhe-2-supercomputer-takes-top-ranking-a-win-for-intel-vs-nvidia.html http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7461-chinas-tianhe-2-supercomputer-takes-top-ranking-a-win-for-intel-vs-nvidia.html#comments Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:43:15 +0000 tim http://www.itwriting.com/blog/?p=7461 The International Supercomputing Conference (ISC) is under way in Leipzig, and one of the announcements is that China’s Tianhe-2 is now the world’s fastest supercomputer according to the Top 500 list.

This has some personal interest for me, as I visited its predecessor Tianhe-1A in December 2011, on a press briefing organised by NVidia which

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]]> http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7461-chinas-tianhe-2-supercomputer-takes-top-ranking-a-win-for-intel-vs-nvidia.html/feed 0 Fixing lack of output in AWstats after Debian Linux upgrade http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7459-fixing-lack-of-output-in-awstats-after-debian-linux-upgrade.html http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7459-fixing-lack-of-output-in-awstats-after-debian-linux-upgrade.html#comments Sun, 16 Jun 2013 12:59:50 +0000 tim http://www.itwriting.com/blog/?p=7459 I use AWStats to analyse logs on several web sites that I manage. After a recent upgrade to Debian 7.0 “Wheezy” I was puzzled to find that my web stats were no longer being updated.

I verified that the Cron job which runs the update script was running. I verified that if I ran the

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]]> http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7459-fixing-lack-of-output-in-awstats-after-debian-linux-upgrade.html/feed 0 Microsoft and mediocrity in programming http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7456-microsoft-and-mediocrity-in-programming.html http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7456-microsoft-and-mediocrity-in-programming.html#comments Sat, 15 Jun 2013 11:16:00 +0000 tim http://www.itwriting.com/blog/?p=7456 A post by Ahmet Alp Balkan on working as a developer at Microsoft has stimulated much discussion. Balkan says he joined Microsoft 8 months ago (or two years ago if you count when he started as an intern) and tells a depressing tale (couched in odd language) of poor programming practice. Specifically:

Lack of documentation

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]]> http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7456-microsoft-and-mediocrity-in-programming.html/feed 4 VLC efforts targeting WinRT with open source tools could enable more open source ports http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7449-vcl-efforts-targeting-winrt-with-open-source-tools-could-enable-more-open-source-ports.html http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7449-vcl-efforts-targeting-winrt-with-open-source-tools-could-enable-more-open-source-ports.html#comments Mon, 10 Jun 2013 12:41:41 +0000 tim http://www.itwriting.com/blog/?p=7449 An email from VideoLAN concerning the port of the open source VLC media player to WinRT, the tablet platform in Windows 8, provides insight into some of the technical difficulties facing open source developers.

This is the heart of the problem:

The build process of VLC is not integrated with Windows Tools, notably Visual

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]]> http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7449-vcl-efforts-targeting-winrt-with-open-source-tools-could-enable-more-open-source-ports.html/feed 2 Windows Server 2012 R2, System Center 2012 R2, SQL Server 14: what’s new, and what is the Cloud OS? http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7442-windows-server-2012-r2-system-center-2012-r2-sql-server-14-whats-new-and-what-is-the-cloud-os.html http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7442-windows-server-2012-r2-system-center-2012-r2-sql-server-14-whats-new-and-what-is-the-cloud-os.html#comments Mon, 03 Jun 2013 14:07:52 +0000 tim http://www.itwriting.com/blog/?p=7442 Earlier this month I attended a three-day press briefing on what is coming in the R2 wave of Microsoft’s server products: Windows Server, System Center and SQL Server.

There is a ton of new stuff, too much for a blog post, but here are the things that made the biggest impression.

First, I am

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]]> http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7442-windows-server-2012-r2-system-center-2012-r2-sql-server-14-whats-new-and-what-is-the-cloud-os.html/feed 0 Windows 8: return of Start button illuminates Microsoft’s painful transition http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7438-windows-8-return-of-start-button-illuminates-microsofts-painful-transition.html http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7438-windows-8-return-of-start-button-illuminates-microsofts-painful-transition.html#comments Wed, 29 May 2013 20:54:08 +0000 tim http://www.itwriting.com/blog/?p=7438 The Start button is coming back. At least, that’s the strong rumour, accompanied by leaked screenshots from preview builds. See Mary Jo Foley’s post complete with screen grab, though note that this is the Start button, not the Start menu. Other rumoured changes are boot to desktop by default, and the All Apps view by

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]]> http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7438-windows-8-return-of-start-button-illuminates-microsofts-painful-transition.html/feed 4 Build Mac and iOS apps in Visual Studio: Oxygene for Cocoa http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7434-build-mac-and-ios-apps-in-visual-studio-oxygene-for-cocoa.html http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7434-build-mac-and-ios-apps-in-visual-studio-oxygene-for-cocoa.html#comments Wed, 29 May 2013 07:37:21 +0000 tim http://www.itwriting.com/blog/?p=7434 Remobjects has released Oxygene for Cocoa, which lets you build apps for Mac and iOS using Visual Studio and the Oxygene language.

Oxygene is a Delphi-like language, making this an easy transition for Delphi developers. Until the most recent release, a version of Oxygene, called Prism, was bundled with Delphi, though this targeted .NET rather

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]]> http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7434-build-mac-and-ios-apps-in-visual-studio-oxygene-for-cocoa.html/feed 0 Why custom templates might not appear in Word 2013 http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7414-why-custom-templates-might-not-appear-in-word-2013.html http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7414-why-custom-templates-might-not-appear-in-word-2013.html#comments Mon, 27 May 2013 14:30:32 +0000 tim http://www.itwriting.com/blog/?p=7414 I have a custom Word template which I use for transcribing interviews (it lets me start and stop the audio with a key combination). I installed this into the location defined for user templates. This option is in File – Options – Advanced – File Locations.

However, when I chose File – New

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]]> http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7414-why-custom-templates-might-not-appear-in-word-2013.html/feed 0 Miguel de Icaza: don’t blame Google for Microsoft’s contempt for developers http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7411-miguel-de-icaza-dont-blame-google-for-microsofts-contempt-for-developers.html http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7411-miguel-de-icaza-dont-blame-google-for-microsofts-contempt-for-developers.html#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 14:47:12 +0000 tim http://www.itwriting.com/blog/?p=7411 Xamarin’s Miguel de Icaza (founder of the Mono project) has complained on Twitter about Microsoft’s Windows Division’s “contempt for developers” when it created the Windows Runtime and a “4th incompatible Xaml stack”, in a conversation prompted by the company’s spat with Google over the YouTube app for Windows Phone. Google wants this removed because it

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]]> http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7411-miguel-de-icaza-dont-blame-google-for-microsofts-contempt-for-developers.html/feed 2 Official Google Android Studio is based on JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7408-official-google-android-studio-is-based-on-jetbrains-intellij-idea.html http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7408-official-google-android-studio-is-based-on-jetbrains-intellij-idea.html#comments Wed, 15 May 2013 20:39:34 +0000 tim http://www.itwriting.com/blog/?p=7408 Back in January I asked IntelliJ IDEA: the best IDE for programming Android? Google says yes. At the IO conference today, the company announced the official Android Studio – and it a version of IntelliJ IDEA.

Android Studio is currently in preview.

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]]> http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7408-official-google-android-studio-is-based-on-jetbrains-intellij-idea.html/feed 0 The pros and cons of subscription vs perpetual licenses http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7405-the-pros-and-cons-of-subscription-vs-perpetual-licenses.html http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7405-the-pros-and-cons-of-subscription-vs-perpetual-licenses.html#comments Tue, 07 May 2013 15:12:29 +0000 tim http://www.itwriting.com/blog/?p=7405 Adobe has caused a stir with its announcement that Creative Suite will no longer be available under a perpetual license, for versions beyond the current Creative Suite 6.

Given this, the CC applications will be available only as part of Creative Cloud. We will continue to sell and support Adobe Creative Suite® 6 applications, and

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]]> http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7405-the-pros-and-cons-of-subscription-vs-perpetual-licenses.html/feed 0 Creative Pros prefer iOS says Adobe, explaining lack of Android support in new apps http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7404-creative-pros-prefer-ios-says-adobe-explaining-lack-of-android-support-in-new-apps.html http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7404-creative-pros-prefer-ios-says-adobe-explaining-lack-of-android-support-in-new-apps.html#comments Tue, 07 May 2013 08:20:47 +0000 tim http://www.itwriting.com/blog/?p=7404 Adobe has shown a new touch app for Kuler, its web application for creating and choosing colour themes, which will be available in June.

I asked Scott Morris, Senior Marketing Director of Creative Cloud, about Android and whether apps like this will also be supported there.

“That is coming out to begin with at

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]]> http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7404-creative-pros-prefer-ios-says-adobe-explaining-lack-of-android-support-in-new-apps.html/feed 0 Adobe announces next Creative Suite, now called Creative Cloud http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7387-adobes-announces-next-creative-suite-now-called-creative-cloud.html http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7387-adobes-announces-next-creative-suite-now-called-creative-cloud.html#comments Mon, 06 May 2013 16:48:22 +0000 tim http://www.itwriting.com/blog/?p=7387 Adobe has announced the next version of its all-conquering Creative Suite, now renamed (or subsumed into) Creative Cloud.

Availability is set for June 2013. There will not be any perpetual licenses for the updated applications:

Can I purchase a perpetual license for the new Creative Cloud (CC) desktop applications that were announced in

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]]> http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7387-adobes-announces-next-creative-suite-now-called-creative-cloud.html/feed 2 Fixing slow network or wi-fi in Windows 8 with Hyper-V http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7366-fixing-slow-network-or-wi-fi-in-windows-8-with-hyper-v.html http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7366-fixing-slow-network-or-wi-fi-in-windows-8-with-hyper-v.html#comments Fri, 03 May 2013 08:02:37 +0000 tim http://www.itwriting.com/blog/?p=7366 I had an annoying problem with my Samsung Slate running Windows 8. I use it while traveling, and every time I connected to a different wi-fi network, or even woke it from sleep while on the same network, I would get several minutes pause while Windows tried access the network. During this time, applications like

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]]> http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7366-fixing-slow-network-or-wi-fi-in-windows-8-with-hyper-v.html/feed 1 Billion dollar revenue or not, Microsoft Azure is growing fast http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7358-billion-dollar-revenue-or-not-microsoft-azure-is-growing-fast.html http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7358-billion-dollar-revenue-or-not-microsoft-azure-is-growing-fast.html#comments Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:24:37 +0000 tim http://www.itwriting.com/blog/?p=7358 Is Microsoft Azure now a billion dollar business? Maybe, maybe not. The milestone was announced by Curt Anderson, CFO for Server and Tools at Microsoft, in this Bloomberg piece:

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)’s Windows Azure software and related programs have surpassed $1 billion in annual sales for the first time … Microsoft’s $1 billion sales figure

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