Windows 7 Taskbar Enhancement Request

Dear Microsoft,
I like the Windows 7 taskbar and have found it to be a huge improvement over previous iterations of the essential tool. The additions of Jump Lists has been a huge benefit and I use them frequently. However, for the numerous messaging applications that I have (email client, IM client, Twitter client, etc.), notifications of new messages is still using the antiquated technique of putting an icon into the notification tray. I think a better option would be to enhance the API for taskbar icons like you have with Jump Lists to provide little decorations on the task bar icon for notifications. Essentially, this:

would become something this mockup:

I think this unclutter my notifications tray, and I wouldn't miss notifications on new messages (especially when the "New Mail" icon in the notification tray ends up hidden). Skype currently does something like this, but only with the icon in the notification tray.

Sincerely,
Sean

Protip: Mounting BOX Cloud Storage Accounts

One of the most difficult things about using cloud storage for me was the ability to use the storage shares within Windows 7 or Ubuntu Linux without having to use a browser, especially with services like Box. Recently Box offered 50GBs to new users, and I decided to add Box to my cloud storage repertoire, but the lack of the integration of free disk syncing made adoption of the service difficult for me - until I uncovered that you can using the Box service as a WebDAV endpoint.

2011: A Review

For the past few years, it has been a tradition of mine to spend part of New Year's Eve thinking back on what happened in the past year. I think about my personal and professional life, my relationships - friendships and otherwise - and the things that happened globally. And in keeping with my hypothesis that odd-numbered years are typically very significant for me, 2011 has continued to prove that hypothesis true. Though a lot has happened in the past year, for me, these have been the most notable:

Christmas 2011

Christmas this year was pretty crazy, but everyone had a good time. I hope your Holiday was enjoyable as well!

Merry Christmas To All

Distributed Computing on Mobile Devices

Since my last year as an undergraduate, I have been enamored by distributed computing and the ingenuity in how it leverages standard desktop PCs to churn vast amounts of information to solve incredibly difficult computing problems. In recent years, computer scientists and scientific researchers have required the use of powerful supercomputing clusters in order to process huge sets of data. By clustering smaller, cheaper computers together, these researchers were able to make faster, cheaper and more reliable supercomputers than their older, larger and more specialized mainframe ancestors. More recently, scientists have begun using distributed computing as a means to further reduce cost while increasing processing power by letting members of the general populace donate idle CPU time to crunching sets of scientific data.

That Moment...

My God, I remember watching The Addams Family growing up, and now watching Pan Am. I'm still only 26, but I feel old.

RIP Steve Jobs

For those who know me personally or who have read my previous posts here, they know that I have been ardently opposed to Apple's totalitarian business practices. Often in my opposition, the former CEO of the company was often the unfortunate figurehead for which I would thrust upon my dissatisfaction. What I have not said in times past publicly, however, is that I do respect the man and what he has done for the world.
I have not ever personally met Steve Jobs, and few probably ever have, but even as a non-Apple user, I became aware of the presence of the company he created. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, under his leadership he brought Apple back from the brink of death to become one of the most powerful tech and (now) entertainment companies in the world. People have often said that his contributions to the company's products were "creative and innovative," but I instead attribute his creativity and innovation more in line with his business practices. He truly was a genius businessman and knew how to deliver cutting-edge technology to the average consumer and how to protect his company's financial future - a father figure to be sure.
I respect the man for the tremendous conglomerate he helped create. I respect the man for his honorable fight against cancer. And I give my sincerest condolences to his family and close friends for their great loss. He leaves a lasting legacy and was one of the last living legends in technology. Without a shadow of a doubt, he will be missed.

Java Enum Interfaces & Enumeration

Java never ceases to amaze me sometimes, especially with some little known tricks that have the potential to help code relatively difficult or tedious tasks in short order. One such problem happens to involve a bean class that contains a large number of fields of different enum types. I found this trick out today while working to figure out how to provide a concrete set of options, but provide some method of enumerating those options in a easy, abstract and consistent way.

Your data and what really happens when you 'Delete'

This morning I ran across a re-tweet of this by someone here at work with a link to an article about how Windows systems do not actually completely erase files when you tell it to delete a file or folder - even when "permanently" removing it from the Recycle Bin. Upon reading the article, I felt a huge pang of Nerd Rage and felt compelled to set the record straight to the best of my knowledge. After all, I did work for over 5 years getting my degree in Computer Science, the least I could do is actually use it. The article I mentioned is half-hearted in its explanation, but avoids some major points about file deletion in general regardless of the operating system as a means to sell their product. Let me explain a few concepts before I dive into clarifying some things that are misleading in the article: