New Blog

I've been wanting to host my blog in my own domain for a while. Well, I recently downloaded Apache Roller, configured it under my GlassFish server and I have my new, self-hosted blog up and running.

Check it out at: http://ensode.net/roller/dheffelfinger/

David Heffelfinger Interviewed at DZone

As the author of Java EE 5 Development Using GlassFish Application Server, I was interviewed a while back by Meera Subbarao of DZone.

Click on the link above to read the interview.

NetBeans Book Available for Pre-Order

My new book, Java EE Development With NetBeans is now available for pre-order from Packt Publishing's web site.

It covers several aspects of Java EE development using the NetBeans IDE.

Some of the features covered include:

• Visual JSF Development
• JPA Entity generation from existing database tables
• EJB 3 session bean development
• JMS and EJB 3 Message Driven Bean development
  

David Heffelfinger Interviewed at Packt Publishing's Web Site

A while back I was interviewed by Packt Publishing. Follow the link to read the interview.

Looking for new contracts

My current contract will end in December. I am starting to look around for work. If you have a need for an experienced Java/J2EE Senior Developer/Architect, Contact Me.

My current resume can be found in my web site

Some highlights about what I can bring to the table:

I am a published author of three Java and J2EE related books:

Java EE Development With NetBeans

Java EE 5 Development Using GlassFish Application Server

JasperReports For Java Developers

I am a part time Java instructor at The Learning Tree International. I currently teach a course on Java EE 5, the successor to J2EE

I have 13 years of software design, development and architecture, 12
of which have been with Java, J2EE and related technologies.

HP F4180 Printer/Scanner/Copier Works Like a Charm in Linux

I found myself needing a scanner, and, as most people that know me know, I run Linux at home, therefore I have to be a bit careful with my hardware purchases since some esoteric hardware may HP F1480 printer/scanner/copier all in one combo, which works flawlessly under Linux. I didn't really need the copier functionality, but it was a nice bonus.

Installing this printer was really a "plug and play" experience, no need to install drivers or anything, simply plug the USB cable into the computer, it was detected automatically, I can scan from The Gimp or any other device that can access a scanner, and print from any application.

Amazon Rocks

As I have mentioned before, I recently got myself a shiny new Blackberry Curve. I got it for what I thought was a good price, $99.99 with a two year contract with AT&T/Cingular. The same Blackberry Curve is $199.99 from AT&T's web site.

To my dismay, Amazon dropped the price of the Blackberry to $44.99 a couple of days after I ordered mine. Fortunately, I learned about Amazon's Post-Order Price Guarantee, with this guarantee, if the price of an item purchased through Amazon drops in price within 30 days of the purchase date, Amazon refunds the difference. I contacted Amazon and they agreed to refund the difference.

The story doesn't end there, a few days after the initial price drop, Amazon dropped the price of the BlackBerry curve again, this time to only $0.01 (you read that right, a penny), again with a two year contract agreement. I contacted them again and they once again agreed to refund the remaining difference.

I can't believe I got such a nice device for only one cent.

If you are in the market for a new phone, I highly recommend you get one of these, much, much, much better than the phones that can typically be obtained for free with a contract.

Transferring Files From The Blackberry to Linux

As I mentioned in my previous post, I just got a BlackBerry curve from Amazon. As those who know me are aware, I am an avid Linux user, therefore the CD that comes with the Blackberry is useless to me, since it includes software for Microsoft Windows.

I was wondering if there was a way to transfer pictures and other files between the Blackberry and my Fedora Linux laptop. Out of curiosity I plugged in my Blackberry to one of the laptop's USB port To my surprise, shortly after plugging it in, a window popped up in the Blackberry asking me if I wanted to turn mass storage mode on. I answered yes and, lo and behold, the Micro SD card in the Blackberry was automatically mounted by Fedora.

By having the card accessible in my laptop, I can easily copy files, for example pictures taken with the Blackberry, to my laptop and vice versa. This way I can copy music files to the Blackberry as well to listen with its built in media player. What a nice surprise this mass storage mode was.

BlackBerry Curve

Three days ago I got my first Blackberry, a curve, also known as the 8300.

This is my first "fancy" phone, the ones I've had before are the ones that come free with the plan.

The reason I decided to get one is because I might be traveling more often in the near future, and BlackBerries allow you to stay connected while on the road. In addition to being a phone, a BlackBerry can be used to send and receive emails while on the phone. It also includes a browser to surf the web wirelessly.

To be able to take advantage of the email and browsing issues, a data plan is needed. Cingular/AT&T offers several data plans, and it is not entirely clear what the advantages of one plan over the other might be. For personal use, their $29.95/month plan is the best, since it offers unlimited data access. Cheaper plans limit the amount of data transfer, and more expensive plans are meant for corporate users with a Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES).

The curve is the newest BlackBerry model out, the reason I chose it over other models is primarily because it features a full QWERTY keyboard, making it easier to type emails. It also didn't hurt that when I was doing my research, all reviewers in Amazon had given it 5 stars.

After a few days of having it, I can say that I like it very much. I can snap pictures with the built-in camera and immediately send them as an email attachment to family and friends. The only complaint I have is that the web browser is a bit slow, it kind of reminds me of my dialup days.

The (Not So) Secret Way to Keep Weight Off

A lot of people don't know that I used to be 40 pounds heavier than I am today. It is not something I exactly advertise, but when "pushy" people offer me fatty foods, I bring it up and they usually stop insisting.

When people find out about my weight loss, invariably I get the question: How did you do it?

It really is no big secret, a healthy diet, exercise and some willpower is all it takes.

New Laptop

Lately I have been working on a new project that was taxing my old laptop to the max. I spent more time waiting for the hard drive to stop spinning than doing actual work. That gave me a good reason to get myself a new laptop.


Since lack of RAM was the main reason I wasn't getting much work done, my main requirement for the new laptop was for it to have 2GB or RAM. After searching around, I decided to get the HP Pavilion dv2221us. 2GB of RAM, Dual core AMD Turion Processor, pretty good price for the specs.



Being a long time Linux user, the first thing I did when I took it out of the box was to install Linux on it, specifically Fedora Core 6. In general, installation went smoothly, but there was some work involved to get it to work at 100% capacity.



I wrote some directions on what needs to be done and posted them on my site, they can be found at http://www.ensode.net/dv2000_linux.html