Mathijs Lagerberg

howcoldisit:

Ok, I knew from the start that the Google Weather API I used for howcoldisit.com was never official so it wasn’t a surprise when they silently killed it yesterday, possibly killing weather apps everywhere. Including howcoldisit.com and the associated Chrome app and Pokki app.

But,…

Syncing savegames over Dropbox

This batch file will create directory junctions between your savegames and Dropbox, allowing you to share savegames across multiple computers. To sync a game, find out where the savegames are stored (Google is your friend) and add two lines to the file.

To link the samegame folder to Dropbox on the source computer:

mklink /J "C:\path\to\dropbox\savegames\best_game_ever" "C:\path\to\best_game_ever" 

and the reverse for linking on the target computer:

mklink /J "C:\path\to\best_game_ever" "C:\path\to\dropbox\savegames\best_game_ever" 

Once linked, you’re done. Your savegames are automatically kept in sync.

Notes:

• This uploads your savegames to Dropbox, so make sure you have a large enough Dropbox account.
• Windows only. It’s a batch script.
• Assumes your Dropbox is located in %HOMEPATH%\Dropbox
• Creates a folder named savegames in the root of your Dropbox folder.
• Works with any cloud host (Dropbox, Sugarsync, Google Drive, CX, 4sync, …) as long as the sync folder is on the same partition (can’t create directory junctions between multiple drives or partitions).
• Use at your own risk.

GMail for Google Apps

Here’s something I noticed when setting up my Google Apps to have GMail work with my own domain. 

When you’ve added a domain through the Google Apps dashboard, the following step is to setup MX records, the dns records that make e-mail go to where it’s supposed to be. Google instructs you to setup the following MX records (or very similar) in your domain host:

It’s clear enough and it worked flawlessly on my previous domain server. On the one I’ve been claiming my most recent domain names (like the one you’re visiting right now, mlagerberg.com), it did not. Now I’m not sure if this goes for more domain servers, so I can only say that I had to do the following on my host, which is iwantmyname.com.

Here’s how I fixed this: convert all the MX server addresses in the table to lowercase, and remove the dot at the end.

I honestly don’t know why that fixed it, but it did, and I hope it’s of any use for others with the same problem.

Everything italic?

This happened to me twice already: you uninstall a bunch of programs and suddenly everything is in italic. More specifically, all the text that was Arial before is now in Arial Italic. That includes most websites, even Google.

One of the removed programs took Arial with it into its grave and of course you don’t remember which programs that was. You reinstall Arial, and all is well. Until you reboot and it’s missing again.

Today I used PC-decrapifier to remove a long list of programs that I never use anymore (it’s great: the standard ‘Programs and features’ screen in Windows makes you select and uninstall each program by hand and wait for one to finish before you can select the next, but PC-decrapifier allows you to select a whole bunch at once and have them uninstall semi-simulaneously). After it was done, Arial was missing.

Here’s the fix. No guarantees.

1. Download and install Arial.
2. Open an elevated command prompt (Windows key -> type cmd -> Hit Ctrl+Shift+Enter). You’ll need an command prompt because Explorer wont let you look at separate files in the Fonts folder.
3. Type cd c:\windows\fonts, hit Enter
4. Take ownership away from Trusted Installer and give it to yourself: takeown /f arial.ttf
5. Give yourself permission to alter the file properties: icacls arial.ttf /grant administrators:F
6. Make the file read-only so it wont be deleted on the next boot: attrib +r arial.ttf

Fixing Dropbox changed path

On one computer, I have my Dropbox folder located in C:/Users/Mathijs/Dropbox/. On an older pc I have it located in C:/Users/Mathijs/My Dropbox/. Not that big a deal, but having Java projects in my Dropbox folder with classpaths pointing to libraries in the Dropbox folder (and without changing ‘em to relative paths, like I should), here’s an easy solution:

On the old pc, open a command prompt and cd to C:/Users/yourusername. Then type:

mklink /J Dropbox "My Dropbox"

This’ll create a directory junction named ‘Dropbox’ pointing to ‘My Dropbox’. Now you can always use the path to Dropbox/, on both computers.

I’m sure this’ll be useful for other projects than Java programming stuff too.

Synergy? ShareMouse!

When developing I use a MacBook and a Windows desktop right next to each other, alternating between the two continuously. Switching between between the two is cumbersome: if I’d hook each one up with their own mouse and keyboard, I’d be rolling back and forth with my office chair to switch between keyboards, not to mention I’d be grabbing the mouse or type on the wrong keyboard all the time.

If only I could use just one mouse and one keyboard, and switch like it’s just one system with dual monitor setup…

Old solution: Synergy

Used to be brilliant, when it was (one of) the first pieces of software to do just that: launch on both computers and move the mouse to the other screen like there’s no border. It even supported cross-computer copy-paste! And MacOS! And Linux!

But dang, that thing is old. Here’s how working with Synergy goes:

• Install Synergy on host and client computer.
• Type “ipconfig /all” in the command prompt of the host to look up your ip-addres. (Using the computer’s name only works half the time).
• Enter the ip-address in Synergy on the client computer
• Wait for it to connect
• Experience lagginess and glitches, EVEN ON THE HOST COMPUTER!

New solution: ShareMouse

Just found this one today, and wish I started looking for an alternative to Synergy way sooner. Here’s how working with ShareMouse goes:

• Install ShareMouse on both computers
• Host computer says: “I found an install on another computer. Move the mouse in the direction of the other monitor”.
• You move the mouse and… holy cr*p! It’s already working!

Plus: ShareMouse dims the desktop you’re not using, to prevent accidentally typing stuff on the wrong computer; and besides cross-computer copy-past it also supports dragging files from one system to another. And it works on the logon screen. On MacOS and Windows.

Disclaimer: I’m not affiliated with the makers of ShareMouse, I just really dig their well thought-out user experience. Here’s a link: http://www.share-mouse.com.

howcoldisit:

Hi there!

In short: I got tired of the way howcoldisit.com looked so I’ve redesigned the shit out of it. The new design is ready and coming soon to the website, but you can already use and experience it. How? As a Pokki-app.

Pokki is an awesome application for Windows (and soon Mac) that…

howcoldisit:

Ok, this Battery Wallpaper app for Android that I’ve developed some time ago is not really part of this blog, but since it’s somewhat of a sister-project to the How Cold Is It wallpaper (and it doesn’t have its own website) I figured I’d brag about it here.

Today its download-counter…

QuickGene - the world’s first intelligent and friendly DNA-analysis and cloning software

Awesome video promoting the software we create at CrimsonBase.

A short time ago two companions an I have launched a new company with the name of Beep Boop Beep. With a lot of personal experience in programming mobile Android™ apps and even more in high-quality Java programming we decided to go pro and focus on developing user-friendly, stable, first-class apps for Android phones.

Android is swiftly taking over the smart phone market: it’s the fastest growing smart phone OS in both overall share and sales of new devices and, since recently, for the first time people in the U.S. bought more Android phones than iPhones. Android has become an interesting platform for companies to fortify or create their mobile presence, and Beep Boop Beep is there to help companies interested in catching the Android wave to get what they want.

Although our first satisfied clients already have live apps in the Android Market with thousands of happy users, we didn’t get around to creating a website for our own company up until now. So here it is: http://beepboopbeep.com.

If you happen to be interested in an Android app, you can always contact us.