Echo Binary

What keeps me from using Opera as a regular browser is it’s close button on every tab. It really annoys me because when I open many tabs they get cramped together and it’s easy to close a tab inadvertently when clicking on them back and forth.

Opera compensates for this by adding a close tab history (the recycle bin at the leftmost part of the tab bar) so that you can reopen closed tabs. Now if you aren’t fond of the “close button” on every tab in Opera there’s a simple option to turn this feature off and make the close button on every tab gone to oblivion.

1. Go to Tools -> Preferences or CTRL + F12

2. On General tab look for show close button on each tab check box

3. Uncheck show close button on each tab check box.

4. Confirm by clicking Ok.

Now the close button on every tab is gone.

You can close individual tab by using the inner close button or by right clicking on the tab and selecting “close”, or CTRL+W.

In case you want the close button on every tab to appear again just enable the “show close button on each tab” option.

Links:
Opera
Technorati Tags: Opera, tab+close+button

Back in November 2005 I posted about free Java IDEs that are available for Sun Developer Network members. One of them is Java Studio Creator. It was offered as an early access version but now Studio Creator 2.0 is finally released.

What’s cool about Java Studio Creator 2.0 is that it can be used for rapid visual web application and portlet development which is almost similar to what ASP.NET 2.0 Framework and Microsoft Visual Studio IDE can do right now. After all both Java and .NET seems to head on the same direction, the web, albeit different philosophy.

From SDN website: Java Studio Creator 2 is built on NetBeans 4.1, and includes features like a new set of JavaServer Faces components, support for building JSR-168 portlets, easy access to databases, a streamlined application model, and more. From novice to expert – anyone building web applications can benefit from the high-productivity features available in Java Studio Creator 2. It’s also interesting that Java Studio Creator 2 has its own AJAX component.

Let me warn you that the system requirements for Java Studio Creator is quite demanding. You need at least 1 GB RAM in order to run this IDE smoothly in Windows, Mac OS X, Linux or Solaris. You can view the complete system requirements here. I’m running it at 512 MB RAM and I can feel that it’s quite slow. Compare that to Visual Studio 2005 which require only a minimum 256 MB RAM (512 MB recommended) and you get the picture why many people say Java is slow. Different developers have their own personal bias. It’s up to you if you feel that Java is better than other programming languages.

Links:
Java Studio Creator
Quick tour of Sun Java Studio Creator 2.0
Technorati Tags: Java, Studio+Creator

I downloaded the trial versions of Adobe After Effects 7.0 and Premiere Pro 2.0 two days ago in an attempt to discover what’s new in these new versions but unfortunately my PC is running out of disk space so I would probably free up some space first. After Effects 7.0 trial is 1.18 GB (PC version) while Premiere Pro 2.0 trial is 563.2 MB.

My first impression in After Effects 7.0 and Premiere Pro 2.0 is that they support more 3D renders judging from their new logos alone. OpenGL 2.0 rendering is enabled in After Effects for blending modes, motion blur on 2D layers, anti-aliasing and track mattes, shadows and transparencies, and more. Premiere Pro on the other hand have GPU-accelerated rendering now. It takes full advantage of the power of your graphics card making preview, applying effects and rendering video faster than ever. These are noteworthy features in After Effects and Premiere Pro. The rest of the added features are enhancements only. I still have to check out the new interface of After Effects 7.0. The graph editor also looks promising. It makes styling and motion tweening easier. I have nothing much to say about Premiere Pro for now. I think it’s a good update from Premiere Pro 1.5 but I still have to test it too.

I wonder what’s next for other Adobe products. Will Photoshop, Illustrator and other digital imaging softwares have an enhanced GPU-accelerated rendering soon? I certainly need to upgrade my graphics card soon.

Links:
Adobe After Effects
Adobe Premiere Pro
Technorati Tags: Adobe, After+Effects, Premiere+Pro

Steganos LockNote will change the way you work with confidential notes. Application and document in one: the mechanism to encrypt and decrypt a note is part of it. Secure, simple, independent. No installation required.

This is a very simple program and yet very useful. Sometimes I have to keep special notes that I don’t want anyone to read. Perhaps this is the easiest way to store and retrieve them without worries. You can store some text in LockNote. When you’re done just close it and you will be prompted to save any changes you have made. You can change your password anytime and your secured notes are portable. You may put it in a flash disk and open it in any PC. You can also create self-opening text documents by draging the *.txt file in LockNote. Alas, your text file is already password-protected with strong AES 256bit encryption!

Links:
Steganos.com: Locknote
SourceForge project: http://sourceforge.net/projects/locknote
Technorati Tags: Locknote, notepad, encryption

Adobe is coming to Manila on Thursday, 13:00 - 18:00 April 6, 2006 to showcase the new Production Studio suite. The roadshow will focus on new Adobe Creative Suite Production Studio which is cattered for web developers, flash creators, corporate video production, wedding video production, short film makers, web and print designers who want to add motion to their portfolios.

The roadshow will be held at Grand Ballroom of New World Renaissance Hotel, Makati City. You may register now in order to reserve your seat. Take note, there are limited seats only! It is first come, first serve.

The half-day seminar will focus on three different sessions. The first session is an Overview of Adobe Production Studio for all who wants to take an in-depth look of the powerful new features in Adobe Production Studio like Dynamic Link, Clip Notes, Live Trace etc. The second session is about Producing Video for Web, Mobile and Traditional Video which will feature an in-depth high end demo covering a more professional set of features including flash video workflow. Web developers, Flash animators, video producers, and short film makers shouldn’t miss this. Lastly, an Introduction to Adobe After Effects will be demonstrated using industry standards on motion graphics and visual effects.

I’m sure you’re all excited about this roadshow because it’s very rare to have this kind of opportunity to rediscover Adobe Create Suite. You may visit Adobe for more information about Adobe Create Suite Production Studio.

Dubbed as “The complete post-production solution” Adobe Creative Suite Production Studio Standard includes After Effects 7.0 Standard, Premiere Pro 2.0, Photoshop CS2, Dynamic Link and Bridge while Adobe Creative Suite Production Studio Premium includes Adobe After Effects 7.0 Professional, Premiere Pro 2.0, Photoshop CS2, Audition 2.0, Encore DVD 2.0, Illustrator 2.0, Dynamic Link and Bridge.

Links:
Manila Roadshow: Register now! (April 6, 2006)
Adobe Creative Suite: Production Studio
Technorati Tags: Adobe, Creative+Suite, Production+Studio, roadshow, Manila, Philippines