SIGNIFICANT BITS
October 2008
by Sean N. Henderson
COLDFUSION IS HOT
Many DACS members reading this probably have
some experience programming with PhP. Maybe this is a time to remind
developers and those making application choices about ColdFusion.
When Allaire first released Cold Fusion (two words then) in 1995,
it made some headlines purely because of its name. It was a number
of years later when I met a person at my wife’s college reunion
who was a ColdFusion developer, and she raved about how easy it
was to create database-enabled Web pages.
As fate would have it, I too, have become a ColdFusion (CF) developer
and have to say CF makes Dynamic HTML (DHTML) and database-enabled
sites really easy. Much richer than old-school CGI (Perl or otherwise)
and even still more feature rich than PhP.
The neat thing about CF’s version of HTML, called CFML, is
that if you can write HTML, then it’s just a couple of tags
and commands more to be writing dynamic websites with CFML. Some
hosting providers provide a version called ColdFusion 4.5 Express.
The current “standard” appears to be based on 6.1 MX.
The current version is 8 (no MX) and is published by Adobe, and
includes support for AJAX.
HYPE ABOUT SKYPE
Skype is a VoIP (Voice-over-IP) telephone service. For PC-to-PC
users, there is no charge. Charges incur when wanting to have
voicemail, call a landline number, call a mobile number, or have
a landline number or cell phone reach a Skype account.
PC Magazine recently listed their survey for various technologies,
and Skype was down from last year.
My purpose in trying Skype was to see if it was a viable low-cost
replacement for a mobile phone. How would that work? There are
various scenarios, none of them simple. The barrier is roaming
across Wi-Fi networks. (Actually, this obstacle was addressed in
a recent Sybase iAnywhere Mobile presentation at DACS.) My target
device is my Palm TX running PalmOS. A recent test of Skype to
my brother out west has us talking for over an hour over a very
clear connect. I was using a USB LCD phone connected to my laptop,
connected to the home router by way of Wi-Fi. My brother similarly
connected, except just speaking open air using his laptop mic and/or
speakers. The sound quality was clearer than any cell phone call
I've had.
ANOTHER USB GIZMO
There's an inexpensive USB LCD handset phone available for use
with Skype. The UP-730 seems to work as expected and sounds better
than expected. The unit was purchased for under $10 on-line.
It allows scrolling through the USB contacts through the handset.
Is it really necessary? No. But, it has a longer cord than most
headsets and it made using Skype feel more like regular phone
service, especially on longer calls.
UPCOMING EVENTS AT DACS
John Patrick is confirmed for December 2, 2008. On November 21,
2008 (the Friday before Thanksgiving), I'll be presenting my PC-Based
Music Production Workshop for DACS members. DACS.org members are
reminded to check the calendar on-line at dacs.org/calendar for
new events and to confirm event details.
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