Beautiful Windows Desktop Apps

A list of eye-pleasing Windows desktop apps ('cause God knows there aren't many of them):

• Sublime Text 2
• Google Chrome
• GeeTeeDee
• Wunderlist
• Nozbe
• Q10
• Pokki (more like webapps but still looks kinda nice)

Feel free to add suggestions in comments and I willl update the list.

ps - Other noteworthy lists include:

• the Lifehacker Windows pack
• this list on appstorm

Enjoy

Google Calendar compatibil RDS

Serviciul oferit de Google, Google Calendar permite (de mult timp) utilizatorilor să primească notificări (reminders) legate de evenimentele existente în calendar. 

Pentru a activa această opțiune, numărul de telefon trebuie activat cu ajutorul unui cod trimis prin SMS de către Google la numărul specificat. Până recent, pentru cei ce utilizează numere de telefon RDS, acest SMS nu se făcea văzut, iar aceasta era pentru că RDS nu se afla printre lista de provider-i recunoscuți. Fapt care nu pare să se întample nici acum :) Dar măcar SMS-ul ajunge, iar evenimentele se fac auzite :) (sau citite pe telefon)

Enjoy

Performing mvn release:prepare without tests

If for some reason (e.g. tests only run in dev environment) you wish to skip running tests during the Maven release process, this is a trick that comes in handy

mvn release:prepare -Darguments='-Dmaven.test.skip=true'

The explanation can be found here at point 6. (the short version is that you have to pass the argument to the release plugin instead of the usual command).

Hide BookmarksBar

Dacă vă place modul în care Chrome face managementul bookmark bar-ului, dar sunteți în faza Firefox, Hide BookmarksBar este răspunsul pentru (aproape) toate problemele voastre.

Cu această extensie puteți să

• afișați/ascundeți bookmark bar-ul cu o combinație de taste
• afișați bookmark bar-ul doar pe pagina de "New tab", iar în rest să fie ascuns
• și altele (ce-i drept, mai puțin importante)

 Enjoy

Why the next Galaxy Nexus must have quad-core CPU

I know there are a ton of rumors going around (oddly identical) that the new Nexus phone will be just a tad better than the Galaxy Nexus (slightly better processor: dual-core 1.5 Ghz, memory card support, better camera: 8Mp and an extra "HD" added to the display). And I think we can all agree that this is a pretty lousy update. But is this what Google really has planned? I mean, the Nexus 7 just came out, it's cheap (about $200) and most importantly it's quad-core. So wouldn't it make sense for the new Nexus phone to have at least a quad-core CPU? if not cheap as well?

Also, since I've reached this point, I would have to say that upon further thinking, the best decision (Android-phone-purchasing-wise) would probably be to wait out until the next Nexus phone with a quad-core, because that is pretty much the top of the hardware upgrades (sure they, can add more RAM and better memory but it won't make much of a difference). And if you reached the top of the hardware that means that future upgrades will mostly be software-based (which since you're buying a Google phone) you're pretty much set up. 

So my recommendation is to wait until the next Nexus with quad-core. (I hope I'll make it..) 

Why the best Android phone is Galaxy Nexus (and should I buy it?)

If you stop to think about it, the best Android phone.. should (I think) deliver the best Android experience. I am right? I mean, right now, I don't have the best Android phone (not even close) and it looks like I'm not going to see Gingerbread :) (except for custom ROMs, but that's another post). So what I would want from a nice Android phone is to get all Android updates, I mean ... I don't want to be greedy but at least Apple-like support (the next 3 OS upgrades or so). Now that is my ideal Android phone; and let's face it, the only way to get that is buying Google's phone: The Galaxy Nexus (in this case). I mean, sure it isn't the fastest candidate on the market, but are you going to be happy with a One X or S3 that after Jelly Bean might be left out staring at the sun? I know I won't. 

But still.. I hope it's not getting too slow.

Some people agree, at least this guy does. Should I buy it?

Forcing TaskRejectedException in Spring

Suppose (for testing purposes) you want to force a TaskRejectedException when using Spring Integration channels. All you have to do is

• send a reasonable number of objects to the channel (let's say a minimum of 5)
• configure your queue capacity to .. 0
• and (important) set the thread-pool size to (as low as you can) 1

I'm using a task executor in this example:

id="someExecutor" keep-alive="120" pool-size="1" queue-capacity="0"

Good luck

Kyrillos' ROM - Bring back the spark to your Samsung Galaxy 3 (i5800)

Samsung Galaxy 3 (i5800)

Hello there all you i5800 fans out there!

I'd like to share with you a recent discovery I've made. If you're someone like me, then your constantly trying to improve your phone, make it faster, prettier and up-to-date with all things tech.

Considering that I've pretty much given up on the idea that any upgrade passed the Froyo (2.2) one posted here is ever coming for our device, I've started to look at the "exciting new world of custom ROMs". After looking at a couple and noticing that most of them contain the dreaded  

What's not working

section, I almost gave up. [Dramatically] Towards the end I found Kyrillos' ROM which seemed quite promising. Today I can proudly announce that this is Day 4 of usage and besides seeing no problems whatsoever, I can safely say that I've very pleased.

Kyrillos' ROM with custom lock screen

Among the top features I would have to say

• a fresh new Gingerbread-ish look
• more space for installing apps (+ the possibility to convert the SD card to internal memory -> a lot more apps) mainly due to removed Samsung-nailed-to-the-OS apps
• a new Image gallery (faster I might say), (resembles the Android 3.x one)
• pre-installed with a few launchers + multiple lock screens
• nice OS fonts
• rooted
• camera app has hardware button (the power button)
• browser seems to be loading pages faster 

These are ones that impressed me the most, but there are a few more including the possibility of over cloaking (to change the processor frequency).

As for installing, it's the easiest thing in the world (especially if you've never used the Odin tool to flash your phone), but there are plenty of tutorials on the web. The full installation guide can be found here.

Enjoy

How to find out an Android Market app's ID

Simply go to the Android Market (Play) app in your browser (say the GMail app) like this

The GMail App in Google Play

and look at the URL

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.gm#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDIxMiwiY29tLmdvb2dsZS5hbmRyb2lkLmdtIl0.

The highlighted section contains the application identifier.

Gmail Tap - Un nou produs Google

Un nou produs de la Google care va revoluționa modul în care interacționăm cu smartphone-urile noastre, va deschide o nouă modalitate de a scrie email .. 

Lansat de 1 Aprilie

Enjoy

Gmail Chat notifications in Firefox

If you're a person like me (who constantly changes browsers and does not use any chat client) then (oh, and that uses Gmail) during the time interval where Firefox is the default browser and you occasionally chat with a buddy using the built-in chat in Gmail, it's a serious drag when you switch windows, continue your everyday activity and don't receive any alert that your buddy wrote something in the chat window.

Unfortunately, this feature is only Chrome available. But, by installing this Firefox extension, you can receive chat notifications even during the Firefox time interval. (the notifications UI is not as good as the one in Chrome, but it sure beats no notifications)

Thank you and Enjoy!

Mareste volumul fisierelor MP3

MP3Gain

In cazul in care aveti un album de muzica sau un audiobook (ca si in cazul meu) care se aude prea incet si (chiar daca e acceptabil acasa sau in spatiile linistite) in momentul in care sunteti in plina aglomeratie in oras volumul dat la maxim nu e suficient, se poate folosi MP3Gain.

Cu aceasta aplicatie puteti sa analizati volumul pieselor dintr-un director si sa ajustati intensitatea acestuia la valori specifice sau recomandate.

Din fericire, aceasta se poate gasi si pentru Ubuntu (vedeti Ubuntu Software Center). Mai jos e un mic exemplu al situatiei mele

Enjoy