resistance to persistence

I’ve been looking through the Informa API recently for RSS work in Java and making some rough notes in hopes of understanding the classes (some are interfaces, but I list them in general as implementations). I haven’t listed all classes, just ones that look important to me or which I might actually use. But there’s not that many that I have excluded. This is based on version 0.5.5. 0.6 is the most recent version.

User - holds Channel subscriptions for user objects
Category - a category for the Channel/item (software/work)
Channel - what I usually call a RSS feed or stream. The entire contents of a feed
ChannelBuilder - like a Channel factory
ChannelGroup - a container for multiple channels. Used as the entry point for an app using Informa
ChannelSubscription - holds the details on if/when a Channel should be updated.
Cloud - ? no idea, never seen used
Feed - metadata carrier about the Channel (content-type, last updated, copyright, location, etc)
IdGenerator - used to generate an ID key (weak algorithm based on system time)
Image - image object in the Channel object model
Item - a Channel item, link to an article. Usually multiples per Channel.
ItemEnclosure - RSS enclosure item (attachment)
ItemGuid - news item guid identifier (can be the permalink)
ItemMetadata - metadata for news item (read status, score (relevance in search))
ItemSource - the source of the item source (location & timestamp)
TextInput - text input field. never seen used. could be a search form as an example
ChannelFormat - Atom & RSS constants
FeedParser - reads in RSS Channels. there’s a main() here as well - testing?
OPMLParser - reads OPML format to get a collection of Channels
ChannelRegistry - maintain Channels with update intervals
ConditionalGetValues - only get Channel updates if it has been modified
FeedManager - manage feeds, not sure when to use this over other classes
FeedManagerEntry - entry in FeedManager for each feed
FeedRefreshDaemon - refreshes feeds periodically
FormatDetector - determine RSS or Atom & version
HttpHeaderUtils - use to only get Channel if updated
ItemComparator - for sorting feed Item order

Can anyone explain what Cloud is? I’ve never seen this concept in terms of syndication feeds.

Last night I finally splurged and picked up an iPod. I’d been watching the models and searching for a great deal. I found a posting to redflagdeals.com about iPods being sold at Costco. Sure enough they’re there and I saved at least $70. The 40GB 4G model sells there for $469. And if you weren’t specifically looking for it, you’d never see it. A demo model is strapped down next to all the digital cameras with no display hoopla or nothing to attract you to it. Blank VCR tapes get more attention than the iPod. The 40GB model is discontinued by Apple as of this week. Now you have to buy either the 30GB iPod Photo or the 60GB iPod Photo. I think the photo models are overkill for price as well as features. I really don’t need to load photos on my ipod. I’ll never view them there and I’m not going to pay a premium so I can have that feature. So I knew it was time to grab the 40GB while it was still around. I was actually going to pick it up last week but I heard rumours of updates to the iPod line for this week, so I waited until then.

I’ve been using a Sony MiniDisc for over 2 years and have been totally satisfied with everything except for when it comes to loading music. The software for the minidisc is TERRIBLE. The process to fill a disc makes you use jump through hoops using a bunch of different poorly designed software which frequently crashes. I suffered through it but it was a major pain in the neck and I found myself listening to the same music over and over because it was just too hard to load up the new tunes. Completely the opposite for the iPod. Rest it in the dock and the music is there. No thinking, no work, it’s just done.

This morning I’ve been bouncing my head to a much better musical experience…and much better musical quality. I’m suprised at how clear the sound is, even without the equalizer enabled. My one fear is battery life. It’s supposed to last for 12 hours between charges. I’ll have to adjust to remember to charge it every once and a while, like the cellphone. This was never a problem with the minidisc….I could easily go for a month or 2 on a single AA battery, listening to it every day on my way back & forth from work (approx 2 hours/day). I’ve always been amazed at that. I might keep the minidisc for when i’m snowboarding as it’s really stable and never skips. Or make me an offer and I’ll part with it.

I’m also amazed with how cool the packaging and design of the product is. I’ve always read about it and seen photos, but you don’t really appreciate it until you experience it yourself. The design of all components, right down to the cables and power adapter is amazing. Small details like the rubberized bottom on the dock and even the fonts are precise. The earphones are pretty cheap, but that’s fine cause I’ve already got some better ones I’ve swapped in.

cube box	great packaging
everything included	support musicians, buy your music
so small in the hand	shiny mirror

This morning I was contemplating an upcoming routine machine cleaning. I’ve got a lot of files which accumulate on my desktop and after a while I take a hard approach and sort or trash each one. I keep files on my desktop if it’s work in progress for easy use and also as a reminder of what I’m working on. Also, downloads to be installed, documents I haven’t yet read, bookmarks I haven’t read and want to read later (found at work, but need to read on non-work time) end up on the desktop. So when it’s time to get tough with the files, they end up in the trash or in My Documents which becomes “out of sight, out of mind”. Once they end up filed away, after a day I forget I even had them in the first place. There has to be a better system.

This got me thinking of del.icio.us and tagging. I believe I read that file tagging is going to be part of Microsoft’s upcoming Longhorn, but do we really have to wait that long? I predict Google is working hard on a solution. Yahoo’s probably not far behind either. With Google’s Desktop search if they’re indexing files, emails, etc I don’t think it would take much for them to extend their index to allow tagging with each item. I’d really like to be able to file items away and tag them “unread” so I can return later. Zip files I’ve downloaded for installation and haven’t gotten around to yet could be tagged “install”. Even tagging status (”incomplete”, “in progress”, “complete”) to files would be a big help. Am I predicting the future? I’ll point back to this post in a couple months when it becomes reality.

I was just looking through my server logs for my new photosite and a few of the referrers were from photoblogs.org/hot! I’m #32 on the list of hot photographers “that have generated the most interest among Photoblogs.org users over the last 7 days”. I’m so impressed. I’ve been getting lots of visits and comments, but this is a surprise. I was just going through photos to post and now I feel more pressure to get something good posted. Now with every photo I look at, I feel more critical about whether it’s “post-worthy”. I better get shooting!

I’ve redone my photoblog site yet again. This time I think it’s maintainable for a while. I’ve scaled down the photos a bit, I’ve got some new photo techniques I’ve been using and I’m really going to try to keep posting a photo a day. I’ve got close to 2 weeks of photos going so far. Ï’m trying to take more photos each week. My trainride in the morning is good for photo editing & organization.

The archive view lets you view a month at a time. You can also subscribe to an rss feed with thumbnails for each post. Add it to your rss aggregator now.

Over the weekend, I also submitted a set of photos to be included in a photography book. I’ve got my fingers crossed that I get in. I’d love to see my photos in print. If mine aren’t chosen, I’ve got some other ideas for printing.

Visit the photoblog now and every day.

Here’s some great photoblog sites I visit every day.

• daily dose of imagery
• chromasia
• i’ve seen better
• chromogenic
• lowresolution
• brownglasses
• heather powazek champ
• photojunkie
• smudo.org
• the narrative