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Posted by on 27th September, 2009

Another Clock experiment

Another Clock experiment

I seem to be unable to break free form any projects that are somehow related to clocks or watches. This time I saw a YouTube movie about an unique clock with a very creative way of displaying time. It is a design is by Sander Mulder and can be seen here: Continue Time Clock. It allows a single arm that is segmented in three parts, to show the hours, minutes and seconds with each correspondent segment at the same time, and although it may not be very intuitive, it is extremely creative and elegant at the same time. Here is my attempt at re-creating the mechanism of this clock in Silverlight 3.0 … It turned out to be relatively simple, by creating a class for each arm and let the hour arm class contain an instance the minute arm class and the minute arm class an instance of the second arm class. This way I could just spin them around their RenderTransformOrigin and they would maintain their relative position...

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Posted by on 6th July, 2009

Vacheron Constantin watch experiment..

Vacheron Constantin watch experiment..

This morning I ran across an article about some watches and there is one that caught my attention. It is a Vacheron Constantin Mercator America and it is a beautiful watch. A bit pricey, but if I ever have $47.500 that I don’t need, maybe I’ll get it some day. The hands of the clock represent what are called nautical dividers and are used by navigational officers to quickly determine distance and range on a maritime charts. I have used these plenty, so perhaps that explains the fascination with this watch. You can buy the watch here and find some exquisite information here. In the meantime, I could only think that the display was quite interesting, and having a maritime background, I loved the concept and originality of its design. I have added a “seconds” counter that moves along the bottom edge of the numbers as well. This was a relatively easy experiment as one can tell by the code… armhour.xaml.cs using System; using System.Collections.Generic; using System.Linq; using System.Net;...

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Posted by on 27th June, 2009

Web.config inheritance tip…

Web.config inheritance tip…

Mainly writing this entry so I don’t spend hours looking for a solution when I need it again, since I tend to forget rather quickly how exactly I solved a problem. In this case, I have a website that is ASP.NET 3.5 and a folder which contains a different .NET application. I understand that the web.config in the root of the site, will cascade down into the applications within by default. What if our application within uses different settings… how do we prevent the settings in the root to affect the child applications? Well, I learned that this can be accomplished in two parts. First there is a somewhat undocumented trick to instruct IIS that we do not want the settings to be inherited by child applications. You will need to wrap your <system.web> tag in a new tag, named <location> with the attributes as shown below: Web.config inheritance <location path="." inheritInChildApplications="false" > <system.web> [...] </system.web> </location> Note that this will show a red squigly line in Visual Studio...

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Posted by on 4th May, 2009

Google Android phone…

Google Android phone…

Although I have pretty much always had one, I have never really cared much for the functionality of a cellphone, other than what it was meant to do…like placing phonecalls. I have an uninteresting Motorola Rzr, so anything is pretty much an upgrade. So I decide to get a new phone. Windows Mobile? no thanks. I have had experience with a couple of pda’s and until Microsoft comes out with something completely new, I will not go through that again…iPhone? no thanks, not yet. I am warming up to the idea, but it seems that everyone has one and I would have to be forced to switch providers. What else…: Google Android…? all my Google apps constantly synchronized? Built-in GPS and Google Maps…? Unlimited Internet via 3G in my area? I now understand what is so interesting about a smart phone. The amount of productive apps that are available, the variety of functions they can performs is impressive, especially the location-aware applications. The one drawback is that if I...

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Posted by on 14th April, 2009

Desktop fences…

Desktop fences…

On occasions, I come across some software that saves me a ton of time or help me be a bit more organized. Here is one that definitively helps me both ways. I use my desktop as somewhat of a clipboard for temporary files and end up with a cluttered workspace. When it gets out of control, I then tend to create a folder called “old desktop” and must have several of these in my backups. This software allows you to create these regions or fences that hold your shortcuts and files together. You can create as many as you want and basically group your files. There is a ton more features and even more good products from their site. Oh, and did I mention it is free…? read...

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Posted by on 15th March, 2009

Silverlight 2.0 Moonlander game…

Silverlight 2.0 Moonlander game…

It has been a while since I have posted an experiment and mostly because I have been quite busy and maybe the little project I started was a bit more than just an afternoon (as is usually the case…). I really wanted to write a simple 1980’s type of game, such as asteroids, but someone had already done that in silverlight. So I figured I’d try something else, like the 1980’s Moonlander arcade game. I know that writing a game is much more than just an experiment as it has much more to handle than just a single purpose. I have several times considered scrapping it altogether and starting on something else, but after many weeks on the back burner, I figured, I’d just get it over with and finish it. I have to say that the hardest part here was the collision detection and the gravity calculation. I was shockingly surprised that Silverlight 2.0 does not have an obvious built-in HitTest or collision detection method for individual objects...

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Posted by on 22nd January, 2009

More free stuff from DevExpress…

More free stuff from DevExpress…

In a previous post I had mentioned about 60 free .NET components available at no cost at all. These are high quality controls and I still have to try many of them. Well, looking for a Silverlight Datagrid, I came across Devexpress again and noticed they are offering these two compoent sets for free, including their source code. Silverlight Datagrid Control – here Silverlight Menu – Toolbar controls – here I used to love Xceed andComponentOne controls, but they are expensive and Devexpress has become one of my favourites since they make it nearly impossible not to try/use their components and become a fan of them… I just thought I’d post this, because there aren’t many Silverlight Datagrid controls and this one is free. I will likely be doing some experiments with these controls, as soon as I am done with another Silverlight experiment I am working...

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Posted by on 21st January, 2009

What is the Windows Key for…?

What is the Windows Key for…?

I don’t know…it is just a key that doesn’t seem to do anything when pressed and it is just in the way. So many years staring at it and wondering what it was good for. Well, it appears this little key is actually quite useful, as I have recently learned. By combining the Windows Key with other key, it allows you to perform frequently used task with hardly any effort. For example, to launch Windows Explorer, you may go to Start > Accessories, etc or maybe rightclick the Start button and select Explore or…… you could just hit Windows Key + E. That simple. Check out this list of shortcuts that I am sure you will start using, if you didn’t know them already. [Windows Key] + L: Locks the workstation [Windows Key] + E: Launch Windows Explorer [Windows Key] + Tab: Cycle through the buttons in the Task Bar. [Windows Key] + R: Launch the Run dialog box [Windows Key] + Pause/Break: Launch System Properties dialog box [Windows...

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