This is more of a "note to self" post than anything, but maybe some folks out there are interested in learning about alternative Windows software installer systems besides Install Shield (one of the most common, I think.)

The Nullsoft Scriptable Install System looks very lightweight and powerful, so maybe some of you can find good use for it? ...Maybe you're not a programmer/software developer and you don't know what I'm talking about?? Well... either way, I wrote it down, so now I can find it later. :P

I'm dropping a quick note for myself and other system admindistrator types looking for good info on network monitoring tool. I've been in need of something to help me monitor both local and wide network stuff, so I finally broke down and did a little research. I am currently tired of doing roughly 20 tasks manually to make sure everything's running properly... yeah, stupid waste of my time, that.

So, here's a great place to start, even though it's a bit exhaustive to have such a huge list of stuff... the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center put together this list of Network Monitoring Tools that I figure will just about get everyone to what they need at some point. It's not showing reviews or anything, but it's a great resource. I would rather have had someone saying "get product Z, it's the best," but I'm not always that lucky.

I'm needing to get back to monitoring the servers and services that I mentioned, so I'm grabbing one of these tools in particular to see how the free version works. iReasoning Network's SysUpTime Network Management System is what I'm trying first (though it maybe be massive overkill), if you want to come play alongside me. Beyond that, I'm not sure where I'll go.

In case you're interested, I've opened up a new site at www.GameDevSchool.com.  It's intended to house a ton of the video game development info I've been collecting over the years... mainly the trove of info about middleware and game design/development tools I've been amassing since about 1998 or so.  I had been working on adding this stuff to a special developer section of MassMOG, but I finally broke down and set up a separate site for that stuff.  I'll be linking over there from time-to-time when I have game developer-centric info to post.

I'm also a member of several academic advisory boards for local colleges & tech schools that have video game design & development courses they're implementing.  That's been a mixed bag, as some of them are doing it right and others are scaring me, honestly.  GameDevSchool.com is intended to hold a database of some of the school programs I've been learning about.  I'm not sure if I'll get into any kind of reviews (how on Earth would I review them, other than conceptually??), but mostly I want to point out what schools are trying to do.  Maybe I can get interviews or comment/forum posts from former/current students... don't know if it will grow to that point or not.

 Anyway, if you're interested in game development and want to know more, GameDevSchool.com will hopefully start to give you some good research links and info.

Run over there if you'd like to check it out, but be sure to come back over the next weeks as the content starts to build up.  Thanks!  :) 

This white paper, What About Flash? Can We Really Make Games With It? is a great read if you're in the business of developing "casual games" or online games and you've pondered the value of Flash in your life. I've been really strongly researching alternatives to using Flash and Director/Shockwave for online games. I just don't like how confining they are with regards to making other bigger games that I want to work on.

I've done a fair amount of work with the Torque game engine by Garage Games, which is very good. It's much more complex than Flash, but that might be just what you need, eh? There are other options too, but give this article a peruse if you're finding any of this topic interesting.

This is a quick note for reference... this is a great article about creating CSS for websites: An Overview of Current CSS Layout Techniques.

Really well written and extremely helpful in my quest to get this damn CSS thing figured out. It's something that I get and then don't get, only to get again later, wondering why I didn't get it before. At any rate, go read that sucker if you're interested in learning about CSS. It's a fine introduction.

Additionally, I have to add a link to the CssCreator Page Layout Generator... a fantastic tool to generate the CSS layout code, based on your desired input. Very, very useful.

I need to drop a quick note about a new programming language that looks very promising. The haXe Programming Language aims to combine many different platforms under one language... well, I'm having a hard time paraphrasing, so here's a rip from their intro to haXe:

The Web is evolving quickly, with different technologies needed at different places. For instance, if you want to create a website now you’ll have to handle several languages :

* on the server side : a web language such as PHP, Perl, Ruby or Python.
* on the client side : Flash (ActionScript 1, 2 and now 3) and Javascript / DHTML / AJAX.

The haXe programming language is uniting theses different platforms under one language. It brings features that are making it easy to deal with a dynamic world such as DHTML or Databases, while still bringing you a full-featured type system with a compiler that will detect errors early in the development phase.

Basicly, what haXe can do is :

* create Flash SWF files using Flash APIs for Players 6,7,8 and soon 8.5
* generate Javascript code using Browser DHTML API, so you can create AJAX web applications
* generate Neko sourcecode that can be used on the Server side or in standalone executable

Each of theses platforms have their own API, but they share the same programming language and the same standard library, so if your classes are pure code (using no platform-specific API) then they can be compiled and used everywhere, depending on your needs.

Also, haXe make it easy to interoperate between theses different platforms, by providing common protocol libraries. Please note that it’s still possible to use haXe on only one platform if you want for example keep your current working code.

Run over to their site to read more about what this all means... if you're interested. It could be really cool.

I've been working on a project in Flash that requires some more precise sound effect triggering than you get with standard Flash code stuff. Here's a great article about Advanced Flash MX Sound Timing that I'm referencing for my current games. Good stuff!

Testing the embedding of a Shockwave game... wish me luck!

Here's a game, hopefully:

(sorry... I removed the game since it had a problem trying to get high scores from a different server. I'll replace it soon with another game that works better on its own. For now, you can play the game (The Idiot Button) on the Pointless Games site from which it lives normally.)

"Excellence in any department can be attained only by the labor of a lifetime; it is not to be purchased at a lesser price."
- Samuel Johnson

"the lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne."
- Chaucer

In my continued quest to learn as much as possible in the shortest period of time, I stumble across this gem: Teach Yourself Programming in Ten Years. If you've fallen for the "Learn X in Y hours/days/whatever" and found the process wanting, give this article a buzz. No, don't buzz through it... READ it! I do that "buzzing" thing all the time and I just get the tip-o-iceberg. Sometimes a little encouragement to calmly digest something helps.

Maybe I am too concerned with learning new things and less concerned with learning what I've got WELL?? Yeah, I've thought about that on many occasions, but it's good to be reminded. Check out that article.

You can ignore this is if you want. I'm just testing some file handling goodies for this system. I will be making a new implementation of the Pointless Games website and I need to be able to provide files for download.

I may just delete this in a few minutes, so now I'm wondering why I'm spending so much time writing out this stuff. I'll stop now.