Archive for June, 2009
Introducing MarqueePane component to the open source JIDE Common Layer
by David Qiao on Jun.18, 2009, under JIDE, Java and Swing
In the 2.6.6 release, we introduced a small cool component called MarqueePane to JIDE Common Layer. It is open source so please fee free to give it a try. You can use it to auto-scroll any component. It is perfect for use cases such as an auto-scrolling stock tick display or an auto-fliping status, You can run webstart demo to see MarqueePane in action.
Boot camp freezing issue solved
by David Qiao on Jun.17, 2009, under Mac
It is a very busy day while we tried to patch JIDE 2.6.6 release to resolve the serious issue with the latest Apple JDK update.
Along the line of Apple, I had a very bad experience with Apple technical support in the last few days. While I was enjoying the new MacBook Pro and said all kinds of good things about Apple during JavaOne, one problem was bothering me. I had to use Vista through boot camp on this laptop once in a while since some software applications only run on Vista. However the Vista keeps freezing randomly. After it is frozen, there is nothing you can do except doing a hard reboot. It happens several times a day and there is no clue when it will happen or which application caused it.
After a brief google, I gave up so I called Apple technical support. Their answer was simply “contract Microsoft”. From years of experience, I knew it was not an issue with Vista. It is either hardware issue (memory especially) or a hardware driver issue. Since all hardware drivers I am using are from a CD included in the MBP box so I claimed to the support ladies that Apple should provide support for it, not Microsoft. I called three times in two days. One lady simply hang up on me. The last lady directs me to a so-called Apple expert. I am surprised how arrogant he is. His name is Sean and he said “contact Microsoft and that’s the final answer” even after I pointed out to him that there are many other people reported the same issues all over the internet.
Totally frustated, I googled deeper and finally found this post below. Following that post, I believe it solved the freezing issue as it doesn’t freeze for several days. It is a driver issue with Nvidia. I included the post below just in case you had the same issue.
http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54536
As I said, I am not alone on this issue. It is a very common issue and Apple technical support should be aware of it and take supporting boot camp with Vista seriously. Afterall, Mac only has less than 10% market share.
Apple, you disappointed me!
What’s wrong with Apple
by David Qiao on Jun.16, 2009, under JIDE, Java and Swing, Mac
Apple just released a new JDK6 on Mac. It is suppose to be a good news but it turned out to be a nightmare. They changed the package structure of Aqua L&F. Many classes that were under apple.laf package are now under com.apple.laf. This breaks pretty much everything we tried to make JIDE looking decent enough on Mac. Even more, I could change our code to use the new classes but how to make it compatible with both old and new JDK? Two sets of JIDE clasess or even two release packages? It is really werid to see Apple did such a strange thing in a minor JDK update (maybe make sense for JDK 7). Hope someone from Apple Java team can give me an explantion.
Slides for JavaOne 2009
by David Qiao on Jun.06, 2009, under Conferences
Just back from San Francisco for JavaOne. It is great to meet many friends and see some JIDE users during the conference. The slide for my TS is below. Will see you next year!
