I am currently waiting patiently for Apple to release their new MacBook Pro line using a new i5 or i7 processor and then it's my intent to snatch one up as my new permanent computer. Check.

Well, besides liking most Apple software and software created for OSX I have grown especially fond of iTunes, mainly because I want to sync my iPhone everynight and snatch the newest podcasts i'm subscribed to. OK, I could do this in Linux but if you've ever used any of that stuff, it's reverse engineered and it's not real reliable. Besides, iTunes is a pretty great music manager.

Regardless, I decided that until that time comes I want to see where Windows is at and how well I can adapt to it from my Linux lifestyle. For about the last 10+ years I've used Linux 99% of my time and it's been great. Love command lines, love compilers, love the software (for the most part, I'm looking at you browsers and flash!). But it's just not as refined...

Well, let me tell you something. Windows software (at least the free stuff) is not that refined either. It's pretty good, and much better than what it was. I'm going to outline some major things that I need to do and how I'm handling it in Windows 7.

Terminal

Windows now includes "Power Shell" which is a glorified terminal. By default they did a good job of creating commands that relate to UNIX/Linux style commands (ls, cd, rm, etc.). The downfall of this is that they are aliases to .NET commands! Basically what PowerShell boils down to is a .NET command interface. Kinda like how you'd run python and get a Python shell. It works so far.

On a side-note. There are environment variables but they are a bit harder to define. You have to edit the environment variables for a user and when you start a new shell they will have updated. There are probably easier ways to do this (I know you can do setx) but using the GUI seems to work pretty easily and a little quicker than trying to type out the settings. If you screw it up there isn't as easy of a way to correct it.

Also, there is an idea of a .bashrc (shell startup file) but it's not very convenient. I don't remember the link offhand and you have to enable script running for unsigned scripts.

SSH

Thank you Putty. I installed Pageant, Putty, and Plink. Plink lets me ssh in the PowerShell but that doesn't work too well because PowerShell doesn't handle the color escapes from bash. But it works well enough. Pageant handles my private key authentication. I have it run at startup (simple shortcut in the startup folder) and mainly use Putty to connect remotely and forward my SSH key. Works very solid. Somewhat is annoying to have to use another program for this, and not be able to do it from the command line.

Editor (VIM)

I used vim in Linux and there is a nice build for Windows. Installs nicely. Overall it works good. I was able to get all my settings ported over quickly (after figuring out where they go: $HOME/_vimrc). One nice thing is you can update the shell environment variables and then vim and gvim can be used from the powershell just like in Linux and all seems fairly kosher.

Version Control

GIT has a windows client that has been working for me. It's command line only and It seems a janky as it wouldn't let me use putty as the ssh backend but it has a compiled version of OpenSSH client that it falls back on. I believe it might have something to do with my using a color terminal on the host that has my git repositories.

Subversion has always had a program that integrates with Explorer nicely called TortoiseSVN that works great. I am tempted to move away from GIT. I believe that even Mecurial and Bazaar have Windows clients, not sure though.

Python

Python was a bit trickier. I downloaded the 64-bit version and it worked pretty well except that some libraries (numpy) require some compilation. The problem is that by default Windows 7 doesn't come with a compiler. There are two solutions. 1. Download Microsoft Visual Studio Express Edition and Microsoft SDK for Windows. 2. Download third-party pre-compiled versions of the libraries. I did (1) initially and found out that by default VS Express Edition doesn't include a 64-bit compiler, you have to download the Windows SDK to get that. Well, I eventually just decided on downloading the third-party compilations from here thanks to Christoph Gohlke. He did the heavy lifting of building these packages.

As a side note, there does seem to be a package for distutils which allows you to use 'easy_install' to install Python packages. The package includes the 64-bit build but uses a 32-bit installer which looks at a bad registry entry to find the location of Python. I fixed this by duplicating one registry entry (I'll have to update this later to say where) and it installed and runs fine.

MySQL

Install is easy, but default table type is InnoDB which is different from Linux which was defaulting to MyISAM. I ended up having to run a PowerShell as an administrator and then editing the my.ini file which lives in the MySQL install directory (somewhere under _C:\Program Files_). This just caused some problems with Django because I imported some old tables and then built some new ones and the constraints didn't want to work because of differences in table types.

Django

There is a package which I didn't use called "Instant Django" so you may wanna check that out. For this one I actually used distutils and just ran

python C:\python26\Scripts\easy_install.py install django

and that took care of everything. If you've setup Django on Linux before it can be tricky but it's not any trickier on Windows.

That's about all I've run into right now. Seems are working and I'm fairly happy. Not because I think Linux is bad or Windows is good. It's just different and a decently exciting experience. Web browsing seems faster and a bit more stable. So far so good.

I have been using Windows 7 now (more on that in another post) and I have to admit, I don't trust it one bit. I do trust Apple's approval process. All the "bad" press about the App store has made me think, "OK, here is a company that is validating the software that I'm going to run on the computer." This is great. Why? Because everyone and their brother is going to write software for this thing, so everything will be available and you'll know that people took the time to make it worth a damn because they knew they had to go through the process. Let me see, software available for everything I need to do and it's good and I don't have to search around the internet a bunch to find it? True, True, True. Man, if windows software was as cheap and easy to find and not a total piece of crap when I bought it, that would be great for me.

I was just thinking last night and today how much I love my iPhone. And I don't think of it like a phone. I think of it as something that is a portable tool for me to use. My dad carries a pocket knife around with him. I carry an iPhone. Mine may give me leg cancer though.

Why is everyone harping on Apple anyways? People calling them "closed" and all this crap. A recent article by the WSJ suggested Apple is the next Microsoft. Let me suggest one flaw in this argument: Apple doesn't say that one technology is stupid (Java) then replace it by a proprietary one (C#). The argument here being Flash which if you ask anyone who develops for flash, it's a travesty. Ridding the world of flash and pushing Javascript and HTML5 helps Linux users, helps WIndows, and yes, helps Mac users too. And I'm not saying Javascript is better or HTML5 is the savior but it's at least doing something different. Flash has not been going anywhere. I agree with Steve Jobs: Adobe is Lazy.

This is the greatest biscuits and gravy gravy recipe ever... until i make it further better.

Ingredients

• 1lb sausage
• 1 stick of chorizo
• 2 eggs
• flour
• milk

Process

1. Cook the sausage and chorizo.
2. Leave the grease in the pan.
3. Add four very rounded tablespoons of flour^*.  Maybe more.
4. Cook the meat and flour mixture a bit.
5. Slowly add milk and mix until you get the consistency you want.
6. Mix in the two eggs and let that cook.

^*the more flour you add the more gravy you're going to get.  I like mine on the meatier side and for 1lb of sausage four rounded tablespoons was good.

You're on your own for biscuits.  I would suggest something better than Grands, they always have a bad aftertaste to me.  I admit, there's not much too it but I've never seen biscuits and gravy with chorizo in it.  I have tried just chorizo in the gravy but it's just not as good.  Here is a picture.  Don't let the look deceive you.

Most likely I will make this better by adding Bacon.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups crushed Oreos

Directions

1. Oven to 375.
2. Mix 2 1/4 cups flour, 1tsp baking soda, 1tsp salt in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl (optional), beat the hell out of 2 sticks of butter, 3/4cup of granulated sugar, 1tsp of vanilla extract, and 2 eggs.
4. Gradually beat in the flour mix.
5. Put in the Oreos and then make some balls on a cookie sheet and cook 9-12 minutes.

Notes

To be honest, this is the NESTLE TOLLHOUSE recipe for chocolate chip cookies.  But these are Oreo Chip Cookies, so you don't use chocolate chips.  If you ever forget, it's also 50 other places on the web.  Also, they say to mix the flour and all that separate and slowly add but the first time I did this I just mixed everything in a bowl and it was fine.

If you're not really an Oreo person, you could substitute something else but you'd be wrong in doing so.  Oreo Chip is really the best choice.  A friend of mine suggested Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and I would say that might be a close second.  Even if you don't like Oreos you should give these a try.  You can't really taste the Oreo factor.  It's the taste of excellence in engineering.

Future Work

I'd like to incorporate Bacon into this at some point.

I recently read an article by Paul Graham, What Startups Are Really Like and he notes that one of the suggestions is to release early and get customer feedback.  What if you didn't even have to release?

For a second lets think about what happened with the iPhone.  There was a lot of speculation before January 2007, and then iPhone came to MacWorld with a magical device that no one had seen before and didn't even have them ready for release until June 2007.  Even then they ran out.  I don't have a clear history of the time before January 2007 because I didn't pay attention to Apple news back then but I imagine it's very similar to the rumors and speculation that has been flooding the Mac community since early December.

Lets say Apple decided in October / November that the technology was ready for an Apple phone.  Rumors started to spread but initially trickled.  As Apple is designing hardware they put out different little bits of rumors here and there, parts manufacturers let it slip that Apple is buying parts, patents starting making headlines etc., but Apple at this point has no actual phone.  And then what does Apple do?  It listens.  It puts it's collective ears to the track and starts hearing what people are speculating about.  Gathering ideas?  In December they start developing a weak layer of software and hardware to support it, ready for January of 2007.  Think about it.  Apple didn't have to even give people hands-on demos or anything.  I'm not saying they hadn't tested the feasibility of the device, I just think as far as features go, the community fed them to Apple.  All they had to do was simply show a thin layer of design for key features on this magical mystery device.  As long as they could commit to their promises, it didn't have to even be ready for release.  Remember that even in June they hadn't manufactured enough to meet demand.  The first OS for the original iPhone wasn't that feature-full, but it met speculations and was executed well!  Six months is plenty of time for a company with Apple's level of resources to develop the software for the phone they promised in January.  Interesting enough, the 3G was a completely new, more compact, design which even included a 3G radio, leading me to believe the initial hardware design was done in a bit of haste (where they didn't consider that the metal backing of the original iPhone affecting radio signal strength).  To their credit, excellent execution.

As for an upcoming tablet-like device, they don't necessarily even have this new device in hand right now.  There are tidbits that say "You will be very surprised how you interact with the new tablet," and it doesn't take much for people to run with that idea and come up with even newer ideas.  They could be working on it as I type this and implementing key features that experts and the community are saying the device needs to beat the competition.  Doesn't anyone else think it's weird that they could keep such secrets?  Steve Jobs couldn't even keep his health problems a secret.  There is just no secret to keep!  It's also interesting their event is now two weeks after CES where the competition is presenting their sub-par tablet devices?  I'd say two weeks is plenty of time to implement some last-ditch ideas, especially ones you don't have to immediately release to the public.

Apple is agile and I  believe this is something they do best, and for that fact what GM does worst. And what has the entire Apple community been providing over the last month but providing excellent ideas. Why not just let the customers decide what they want and then execute their ideas?

If the device is ready for release on the 27th, this whole article is moot, but  I could still be right about the iPhone

EDIT: Just so this is clear.  I have been informed that there are many iterations that the iPhone went through so it wasn't a turnaround of 6months.  But it also doesn't mean they're not keeping an open ear, but this is somewhat obvious within constraints.  SDK was a request from the users, but maybe it was always planned.

Ingredients

The Crust

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• I teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 6 tablespoons shortening
• 6 to 8 tablespoons ice water

The Rest

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 6 apples - peeled, cored and sliced

Instructions

The Crust

1. Put the 2 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, and 1 Tbsp sugar in a big mixing bowl.
2. Use a masher (potato or dough) and mix in the 6 Tbsp butter, 6 Tbsp shortening, and 6-7 Tbsp water.
3. Mash this up until it holds together but isn't too goopy (7 Tbsp of water was good for me).
4. Wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for 20 min.
5. Peel and cut the apples.
6. Tell someone how you wonder what your upstairs neighbour is doing.

The Pie

1. After 20 min, remove the pie crust from the fridge.
2. Take about 10-15% of the crust and set it aside.
3. Roll the big component of crust and put it in your pie thing.
4. Put all the apples on the pie crust.  Mound them.
5. Take the 10-15% of pie crust you set aside and make it into long strings or flat slats that will go over the apples.  Think old-school apple pie and how it looks when it has the Kris-Kross (daddy mack!) thing going on.

The Sauce

1. Melt the 1/2 cup butter
2. Add in the 3 Tbsp flour.  Make it kinda a gel / goop.
3. Add 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1/4 cup water.
4. Get this boiling.
5. Pour it over the pie.  Let it get good and covered.
6. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.
7. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes.  Use your eyes here.
8. Optional: sprinkle some cinnamon on top after you pull it out.

I got the hankering to make some cookies and now I'm nauseous from cookie dough.  I'm also sugar high or just super tired.  Here we go.

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup toffee chips

1. Cream the 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter with a mixer.
2. Add 3/4 cup white sugar and 3/4 cup brown sugar and get that all mixed.
3. Beat in 2 eggs one at a time.
4. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla.
5. In a separate bowl, mix 2 1/4 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt.
6. Collide the flour mixture and the butter mixture.
7. Mix in 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 cup toffee chips.
8. You have two options:
9. Put parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
10. Put mounds of cookie dough on the parchment paper.
11. 375 degrees for about 10-12 minutes.

This made a ton of cookies and I'm pretty sure all my sampling of cookie dough reduced the amount of cookies I made by at least 2-3. The original recipe says 12-14 minutes and I think it was a little too long. My first batch charred a bit but also my oven sucks. It's so small I cannot fit a normal sized cookie sheet in so I had to use a bunch of small ones. The parchment paper is a gift. Less cleanup and nothing sticks to it. So awesome.

First a side comment about brown bagging it. Tara and I went to visit my aunt recently and she mentioned how all these girls where she works are always complaining about how they don't have money and all this, yet they go out to eat everyday. Her direct quote was "HAVEN'T YA HEARD OF BROWN BAGGIN' IT?"

So that has been a true inspiration to me. Only eat lunch out once a week and the Airliner has half-off Tuesdays so you can get a large deep dish pizza for like 10 bucks. It's enough for four people. I went yesterday and we had so much left over that I took it down to the ped-mall and gave it to some guy that held a sign saying "anything helps." The thing that pissed me off though was that the guy was pulling out a pack of beef jerky from his bag. I guess deep dish pizza is better than jerky but still, he at least had enough money to buy jerky. That stuff is expensive!

Anyways, long story short, the trick to brown bagging is preparation. You have to think in advance and try to prep some of the stuff for later. Monday I bought about four chicken breasts and cooked them on the George Foreman grill. So this morning I heated up a breast, slathered some mayo on some bread, and I'm pretty sure this is going to be one excellent sandwich.

So yeah, he didn't seem like that bad of a guy and all is well.  I told him it's just hard to get out of spots and kinda annoying so avoiding parking there would be nice.  He got a note on his truck which in all honesty was kind of the person.  I have wanted to tow people who park there.  Hell, it may have been from the apartment people.  I'll try to click a picture of the note on his door.  It's pretty great.

There are some classic lines:

Guy: "You're not an American!" Host: ".... I AM an American?"

Anyways, it's worth watching and only 7 minutes long.  I need to watch ABC primetime more often.  Dateline always had that crazy pedo stuff on.  It's hard to believe people are OK with this.  I am so sheltered.

This just made me think about if I've ever let this kinda thing happen without saying anything.  The only thing I can remember is that I was at Wacky Waters (waterpark just outside the Quad Cities) when I was real young and I met this guy and his brother that I hung out with all day.  We went to play miniature golf and there were these guys behind us that kept hitting their ball up while we were still on the hole!  Except, we started to notice that they only did it to the guy's brother, who happened to have some developmental disability, but they would NOT do it when either I or my friend were putting.  His brother would make a comment back at the guys and they would just laugh at him.  I got pissed for the 10 year old or whatever I was.  Finally they hit their ball up on him, I stepped up on the it and hit the goddamn thing out of the park.  Pain Stewart style!  Of course I got kicked out of the miniature golf course but it was worth it.  The guy running it was just some punk teenager who should've seen what was happening but was too busy looking at girls or something.  Those guys were pricks.  I think that's the closest I ever got to standing up for someone else that was being picked on for something they couldn't change.

If you don't say anything you're just as bad as the people that say something negative.  Letting people think it's OK to do shitty things doesn't help anyone.  Luckily I live in a town where I don't encounter that much.