Dashcode and Eclipse

Well I've been working on becoming a web programmer for a couple months now. I have created a couple applications that don't really do anything exciting, but the level of app complexity is increasing. I have even added an RSS feed so that there is a way to keep people updated with my javascript adventures. To check out my javascript page, go to: http://homepages.uc.edu/~brooksbl/js/

The thing that really helps with writing code is a syntax program that can help you see if you typed your code correctly or not. I was led to eclipse, an open source platform for writing code, by my friend and programming mentor Joey. I also kept seeing a program known as Dashcode on my Mac and tested it out a few times. Here are some screen shots of the two applications.

Eclipse:

Dashcode:


It might not look like much, but they are both helpful. The real key is having something that can pinpoint your mistakes, and both have that capability. Dashcode has tons of templates to make some real powerful web applications. You will probably see some of those as I get a grasp on it. I am just glad that I didn't have to pay for either one.

Going Google

I've been a Mac for about five years now. It was a great transition for me, and I embraced Mac OS X rather quickly. I never thought I would say this, but I might be shifting my Mac loyalties. No, I'm not going back to Windows. I have to use windows at work and often at school, which is often enough to keep me away in my personal life. My loyalties are shifting towards Google.

Five years ago, Google wasn't even thought of as a contender in the computer platform market. It was mainly Windows and Macintosh, with a few Linux users. As of now, Google still doesn't have an operating system for home computer use, but they have entered the mobile computing market with their Android Operating system for mobile phones. Everyone is a big fan. Me, I would gladly get an Android enabled phone, except for one thing. I'm a Mac. Why would a Mac ever prefer a non-apple phone over the iPhone. Because the said Mac uses all of Google's services and they aren't easily compatible with the iPhone OS. I use Google Calendar, Google Docs, Gmail, and Google Voice. The only one that is readily available to be used on the iPhone is Gmail. In fact, Apple has even gone as far as blocking Google Voice and Google AdMob which is responsible for making many of the apps on Apple's app store free. Fewer free apps, unusable services, this is a problem for anyone who has gone Google.

I went Google about 6 months ago. I have had my Gmail account for years, and my blog for a while too, but I only recently began using Google Calendar, Docs, and Voice. It was also then that I realized that I wouldn't be able to use these services as easily in any iPod touch or iPhone. Bummer. Hopefully Google will keep fighting to make their services available despite Apple's attempts to block them, but we'll see. If Apple keeps up their stubborn proprietary bologna I won't remain a Mac for whole lot longer. I think I might go Google. I wonder how those cute Apple commercials will change when Mac has to face an even hipper and more versatile Googlized PC.

My Computer Analogy

For those of you who are tech savvy, you can ignore this post. This is a simple analogy I derived to help my brother understand the various components of a computer system.

A computer is similar to when you sit down to eat. You are the processor and eating is like processing of information. Info can therefore be compared to food for this analogy. The speed at which you eat is your processing speed, which is usually measured in bits (32-bit or 64-bit) and hertz (Mhz or Ghz). Bits can be compared to the size of your mouth or how much info you can process in one bite (no relation to byte). The hertz is how many bites per second you can handle. Today's processors average around 2 - 3 Ghz, which is the equivalent of two or three billion bites of food per second. Now that's chomping.

Now you can only eat what is in front of you on your food tray. The tray is the computer's cache. The bigger the cache, the more info that is readily available. It is obvious that it is faster for you to grab food off of the tray than to walk to the refrigerator for food. Therefore a larger cache or tray significantly enhances the speed at which you can eat. The refrigerator would be the RAM. Most people these days have the equivalent of a monstrous walk in refrigerator in terms of RAM. It can store tons of easily prepared food items. Now someone has to bring the food to you eating at the table. This person is Mrs. Bus. There are different types of Busses (Front line bus and internal bus, etc), but for this analogy we will keep it simple and consider them all the same. Mrs. Bus has a speed, which is also measured in hertz, usually around 800Mhz these days, which means she can get mor information for your tray 800 million times per second.

Most people's refrigerators aren't big enough to hold all the food they will eat at any given time (especially if they are eating at two billion bites every second). Therefore there is a need for an ultra large food storage system. This is like a monstrous pantry. The pantry is your hard drive. This way Mrs. Bus can go and get the food that they need and load it into the refrigerator in preparation for you to eat it within the next 20-30 seconds. When your computer bogs down and is going slow, it is usually because you just asked it to prepare a gourmet meal for which it doesn't have all the ingredients readily available in the refrigerator. Depending on the size of the meal and the number of courses will determine how long it will be backed up trying to process your request.

This brings up another aspect. The system setting in which all this food is being eaten. Are you in a restaurant or in a someone's home kitchen. These could be compared to the Operating Systems. A fine dining environment would be Mac OS X. A typical run of the mill Outback Steakhouse would be Windows 7, and your home kitchen with the paint pealing would be Windows 95, etc. The different meals, complete with recipes, courses, and recommended spices would be the various applications that are being run by your computer.

Now many new computers these days have multiple processors, which is like having a date at your meal. They can be eating one meal (ie. Microsoft Excel) while you are eating another (ie. Google Sketchup). This is handy and is something that the super computers specialize in. Some can have upwards of 1000 processors.

Occasionally you'll want to eat something that isn't an option in your food storage or refrigerator. In this case, you either go without, or you send Mr. Web to the store to get the information you need to make your ideal meal. Mr. Web has gotten faster over the years as he has upgrade his mode of transportation from a moped called "dial-up" to a Porsche called "DSL" or "Cable." For those who can really afford it, occasionally Mr. Web gets to ride in a Ferrari called "T1" or a fighter jet called "T3."

Now the one part I didn't discuss was what do you do with all this information when you eat it. Well... you process it. Once processed, it gets returned to the user in a form of an output. I'll leave it to your imagination to finish the analogy from here :)

High enough to sky dive from? - Almost

Recently there has been plethora of new high rises proposed that are stunning the engineering world with their height. Burj Dubai is currently under construction in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This building when finished will be somewhere between 800m and 950m tall (2625-3115 ft) about 150% the height of the Sears Tower in Chicago. It is already the tallest man made structure standing. This seems stunning, but when you hear about some of the other buildings that will top that, you wonder when it will stop. Wikipedia links you to the websites of several other buildings that have been proposed. In the world of Architecture though, proposed and built are a far cry from each other.

100 years ago, The Singer building in New York City broke the record for the tallest building at 612 ft and 47 floors. Not too long after that, the Met-Life tower bested this by another 88 feet. This was bested by the Woolworth building followed by the Trump Building and the Chrysler Building. The Chrysler building topped out at about 1047 ft. When the Empire State Building was built, it set a new precedent. At 1250 feet, it held the top spot for 40 years (longer than any other). It has never been taken off the list of the top ten tallest buildings in the world.

On Sept. 11, 2001, the next record breakers collapsed into history. The world trade center towers broke the Empire State Buildings record in 1971. The Sears tower then took the title away from New York City in 1974. The Sears tower held this spot for 24 years. When the Petronas towers were finished in 1998, it marked the first time the tallest building in the world was outside the United States. Most likely the United States will never see the tallest building within its own borders again. Taipei 101 finished in 2005 currently holds the record for the tallest completed building.

There are buildings under construction in New York and Chicago that will be taller than anything ever seen in North America. These designs still pale in comparison to the towers they are building elsewhere.

A standard static-line sky dive is done from about 3500 ft. Burj Dubai when completed will be near this magic number. People jump off of Angel Falls at about 3200 ft. Some crazy person will try jumping from Burj Dubai. I wonder what type of skyscrapers will be built in 30 years? They may even start building them with a sky diving platform.

This image compares completed buildings with notable ones under construction (in red).

This is an image of Madinat al-Hareer - a major development proposed for Kuwait

Super Sonic - The next step for aviation

I love my job. I work around some of the greatest and most technologically advanced machines ever created. The aviation market has produced some beautiful and powerful machines. I work mostly with the business aircraft that carry 4-12 passengers. I have my favorites: Cessna's Citation 10, Beechcraft King Air 350, and the Lear 45. But even with these amazing aircraft coming in and out all day, I greatly look forward to the day when I see my first Super Sonic Business Jet. Called SSBJs, They have been in the works for a couple years now. The leading contenders are Supersonic Aerospace International's (SAI) QSST (Quiet Super Sonic Transport), and Aerion. SAI has the benefit of getting all of its design from Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works. This is the same team that developed the F-22 raptor, and the F-35 Lightning II. Their design is a highly impressive looking aircraft that boasts speeds up to Mach 1.8. SAI doesn't have the backing of a team like Skunk Works, but they boast of over 22 new patents that boost super sonic performance and fuel economy. Gulfstream and Cessna are also thinking about building SSBJ's, but their plans aren't as far developed.

The biggest obstacle in making a SSBJ, is the issue with Sonic Booms. This isn't the feeling in your gut after eating at the drive up fast food chain. According to US Law and law in many other locations of the world, it is illegal to break the sound barrier over land because of how disruptive it can be (I've heard that they used to break the sound barrier over Wright-Patterson and it often would shatter the large living room windows in Dayton). SAI believes that they have found a solution to this barrier. Through advanced technology they have developed ways to reduce the force of a sonic boom. They claimed it would sound about as loud as a car traveling 70 mph on the freeway from 100 yards. The company believes that when they can prove to the FAA that sonic booms don't have to "boom", then they will gain the ability to fly supersonic over land too. Until then they will still travel at Mach .99 which is much faster than the .85 Mach of the fastest business jets today. One of the contenders claimed it could even travel just over the sound barrier without producing a Sonic Boom that would reach the ground. Which of course would be even better for those time crunching business people.

Why do we need a super sonic business jet? I don't, but there are some business people who could greatly benefit from going to London and back from NYC within a day, and still have a solid day of work in London. One website claimed that a group could leave Paris at 8AM for a breakfast meeting in NY. It is amazing. A flight around the world to Dubai would save up to 14 hours. The other reason is the more obvious one: because we can. The business aircraft industry has been virtually stagnant for the past 40 years. Yes, newer technology has made business jets quieter, more fuel efficient, etc, but there haven't been any major advancements. This is the next big step, and corporate carriers are ready.

Orders have been made. The first SSBJ's will be built between 2011 and 2013. At that time, the FAA will certify it, and they could be mass produced by as soon as 2015. That would be cool. Until then, I'll keep pumping gas into the plain old multi-million dollar Gulfstreams, Lears, Citations, and Falcons.