I'm giving myself a challenge, and having my blog (Corner of Seven, for those of you reading this via Facebook) become the record of my success or failure of this challenge.

Starting today, my goal is to write *at least* 50 (fifty) lines of code per day.

This idea came about through the previously mentioned "Don't Break the Chain" post on this blog (which worked oh so very well...),  and a recent experience that I had at work.

Most of my work duties are currently system configuration and setup, and less actual development on said systems.  With that, my ability to get code written has diminished.  I was asked recently to create a component in our software that renamed a file going out, based off of metadata contained within that file.  After sitting blankly at the computer screen, with my brain screaming, "I know what to do!!!!" and my hands frozen, unable to regain the muscle memory of the common actions of Java, I looked inside, and realized this had to change.

In a sense of betterment, I want to complete at least a small project daily.  Maybe it's a coding kata. Maybe I work on stuff in Android.  Maybe I continue work on RBEQ.  Maybe I add new things to Corner of Seven.  Maybe it's something I haven't even thought of yet. All I know is that new code needs to come out of me, before I can't do it any more.

Fortunately, I have tools at my disposal.  The afforementioned projects can keep me busy for a while, but what do I have to show the work that I've put in? Enter the Gist system at GitHub. This allows you to put small snippets of code out, configurable by language; it gets your code available on the internet, and embedded into a blog or webpage.

So there you have it.  Look to see some Gists from me shortly.

Cheers!

However, the overwhelming response to the announcement yesterday was that of its name: "iPad." Throughout the afternoon, the 2nd-highest trending topic on twitter was 'iTampon,' a not-so-subtle play on the name. Many jokes set in along the same lines:

http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/alissa-walker/designerati/apple-ipad-name-not-winning-women

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/the-ipads-name-makes-some-women-cringe/

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704094304575029603030082186.html?mod=WSJ_Small+Business_sections_management

This led people to question: "Who in their right mind would use this name?  Especially considering this MADtv Clip?"

Others: "Were there NO women on Apple's naming board?"

Personally, I think Apple knew EXACTLY what they were doing.  It thrives off of the idea that "any publicity is good publicity." Everyone now has the name iPad stuck in their mind, even if it was because they heard it in a joke somewhere.  They know what the device is, and they knew about the MADtv sketch.  As these things get passed around more and more, it will create more interest in the actual device.

On top of that, Apple's fans are the some of the most extreme technology followers, even worse than Stallman, et. al. in the GNU/Linux world. These people, who would buy the device anyway, coupled with the tech world, who is actually impressed with the functionality, makes me think that even with the interesting choice of name, they've still got a hit on their hands.

1. Get a copy of DNN. We can't really use it without getting it, now can we? From this page, pull down the Visual Studio starter kit. After installing, you should be able to build DNN sites and projects from Visual Studio.
2. Create a new Web Site project. Open up Visual Studio, and create a new Web Site project (WSP). Make sure that 'Visual Basic' is chosen as the language (don't worry, you won't have to write much VB), and choose 'DotNetNuke Web Application Framework' as the project type. Give it a place to live, and verify that everything looks right:
3. Build. The site comes ready to go out-of-the-box, so either hit 'Start without Debugging' from the 'Debug' menu (thanks VS), or press Ctrl+F5. After building, a browser window will pop up, and you will be face-to-face with the DotNetNuke Installation Wizard: Click on the "Auto" option to have the site automatically set up a SQL Server database file, and default administrator and host user credentials. NOTE: If you don't have the "Auto" option selectable, because of a SQL Server error (it'd show up in red on the bottom of the screen), something's up with your sql server install. Either hand configure your server (outside the scope of this tutorial), or fix SQL Server (also outside of the scope of this tutorial).
4. Open a new instance of Visual Studio. There might be a better way around this, but I haven't found it yet. The instance holding our web site project needs to stay up, so we keep the web site running.
5. Create a new Compiled Module Project. In our new instance of VS, go to 'File -> New -> Project...' Pick your preferred language (I'm going with C#), and under 'Project Types:', select "Web." In the 'Templates:' window, under My Templates, select DotNetNuke Compiled Module. Give the module a meaningful name. IMPORTANT! Follow these next steps TO THE LETTER, or this doesn't work. Make the project's location point to the DesktopModules folder inside our web site, and DESELECT the checkbox that says 'Create Directory for Solution'. It should look something like this: Finally, Create the solution by pressing "OK".
6. Run the database script. One of the files created along with the rest of the Compiled module project (or WAP project) is 'xx.xx.xx.xx.sqlprovider', where the xx represents a version number. This script generates the SQL tables and stored procedures for handling the new module. We need to run this so our Data Access Layer has something to access. In the web site, log on as host, with the default username and password 'host' and 'dnnhost'. Once logged in, go to the host menu, and find SQL. Copy the contents of the sqlprovider file, and paste them into the text box. Important: check the box below the text box that says "run as script." This allows DNN to replace generic pieces in the script with their specific counterparts provided by DNN. Run the script by pressing 'Execute.'
7. Install the module. In the website, go to host->Module Definitions. From here, at the bottom of the page, there should be a link that says 'Create New Module'. Click that, and this menu pops up: in the Dropdown, select 'Manifest', and the page will reload, with more options. Under Module folder, select your module, and the page refreshes again. a modulename.dnn file should be in the 'resource' dropdown. Hit 'create module' to put the module into your website.

Hope that this helped anyone needing it.

iGoogle

available here

iGoogle offers the ability to customize a page right off the bat - giving you the choice between a set of various feeds and widgets that are predefined for those subjects of interest.

I chose for my example here, Technology, News, Humor, and Music.  I also added in the zip code for Dubuque, IA to show local weather.  This data is saved via cookies to the system you are using - those cookies stay local, so unless you tie this to a Google account, these settings are lost to you until you return to your home system.

Navigating the page wasn't too bad, but there were some jerky things every once in a while.  These issues were most likely caused by heavy widgets that are hard on the system to render in the first place, like the YouTube and Date/Time widgets.  Dragging widgets around was a bit flaky (the right hand column would jump to the middle, nowhere near the cursor), and the middle column just didn't move.  I also found response of things to be a bit slower than the other options available.

The tie-in to Google accounts can be both a blessing and a curse.  If you run only one Google account, then everything is right there, waiting and available for you.  If you run multiple Google accounts, then you'll find the fact that you can't run the same page between both (or more) accounts in sync.

Netvibes

available here

I guess I'm slightly biased, because I've been using netvibes for over a year now, but I still feel that it is the best offering of the mix. Upon approaching the page for the first time, you are also welcomed with a page-design wizard:

After which, the page that is defined for you is present.  One of the more interesting thing about netvibes is its tab system.  These tabs allow you to control what content goes in which page, and these pages and layouts can be shared with friends. Also of note is the ability to add a custom RSS feed, with varying options as to the presentation of that feed.  Some examples on my premade page:

Netvibes isn't without issues, though - load times for many widgets on a page are slow at best, and trying to operate on those pages by moving things around is also hindered when running.  Widget dragging can also be very choppy, especially when dragging between columns and across transparencies.  Probably more of a rendering issue than it is a page issue at that point.

Overall, I use netvibes because it seems more clean and organized.  I leave it up to you to see what options you prefer.