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Scalathon update – attend discounted training from Chariot Solutions, Typesafe, around the event!

Preparation for Scalathon 2012 is well underway. In addition to the coding and social attractions of last year’s successful event, this year’s Scalathon provides opportunities for Scala training. Typesafe and Chariot Solutions are offering three Scala training classes, in conjunction with Scalathon. Even better, Scalathon attendees are eligible for substantial discounts on the training fees. The week prior to Scalathon, we are offering the Fast Track to Scala course, probably the best way to dive head-first into Scala. This will…

Read and Write NFC Tags with PhoneGap

The phonegap-nfc plugin allows you to read and write NFC tags from a PhoneGap application using JavaScript. The plugin originally supported Android. The latest release adds support for Blackberry 7.0. After installing the plugin into your PhoneGap app (See README) it is easy to start scanning tags. Create a function that will handle the NFC events. function onNfc(nfcEvent) { // display the tag as JSON alert(JSON.stringify(nfcEvent.tag)); } Create the optional success and failure callbacks. These callbacks are for success and…

Testing Spring Roo add-ons

This is a combination of a two-part article on Spring Roo and Testing I originally posted on rimple.com, where I write about Spring Roo topics periodically around my book, Spring Roo in Action., co-authored with InfoQ’s Srini Penchikala.. You may find more information about writing Roo add-ons from my recent ETE / Richmond JUG presentation, Leaping Forward with Roo add-ons. How to test Roo add-ons I’m working on updates to several Roo add-ons, which I am going to be pushing…

Camera Access from Android Browser

The browser in Android 4 is able to take pictures from a web page and display them without any plugins or server interaction. This demo uses the Device API and File API to take and display a picture on a phone using the browser. Try it on your Android phone http://don.github.com/html-cam/. I wrote this demo after reading David Calhoun’s post about Android implementing device APIs. This works on my Google Nexus S running Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0.4). The Device API…

Securing Data in iOS

There are numerous ways to secure data that you are storing on an iOS device. The Simple/Built-in Way The simplest way is to take advantage of the iOS Data Protection (iOS 4+). This can be accomplished by setting an attribute on a file like this: [[NSFileManager defaultManager] createFileAtPath:[self filePath] contents:[@”super secret file contents” dataUsingEncoding:NSUTF8StringEncoding] attributes:[NSDictionary dictionaryWithObject:NSFileProtectionComplete forKey:NSFileProtectionKey]]; There are several different levels of file protection. The following was taken from the NSFileManager class reference from Apple: NSFileProtectionNone – no file…

Notes from the Phorum – Cloud means something a little different to everyone

Enterprise Enterprise users get dinged for cloud-washing: buying VMware and saying they’re running a cloud.  But many of them do want to offer a “private cloud”.  Some of the differences?  Automation, standard cloud “machine” configurations, self-service provisioning, a single cloud for all business units, calculating runtime costs and charging projects for them.  Some of the obstacles?  Lack of automation in existing processes, trying to bring complex legacy applications on board, trying to migrate existing staff and tools “to the cloud”. …

What is Chariot Day?

No, Chariot Day is not a group of Ben Hur enthusiasts reenacting Roman-era racing.  Chariot Day is a one day technical conference put on by the techies at my company, Chariot Solutions, on a Saturday.  To borrow a phrase, Chariot Day is of the people, by the people, for the people.  It is loose, it is informative and it is fun.  It’s a chance to catch up with all of the other Chariot Solutions consultants who are spread out at…

Android 101: A Crash Course

Tomorrow is Chariot Day! Charioteers will give 45 minute presentations on a broad spectrum of topics, including enterprise Java techniques, mobile, and Arduinos. I’m planning a dive into Android and teaching concepts along the way. At the end of my session, students will away with a simple Doctor Who app and learn about these foundation topics: XML layouts Themes, styles, drawables, & strings Click/event handling Starting a new activity Specifying an icon for the app Fragments & tablet version (if time) Read…

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