IDE for Education

In one of our courses in Computer Science, our group proposed the use of code inspectors in developing an IDE for Education. The result of the work was a prototype and a document. We conducted a survey to at least 20 people and allow them to evaluate the prototype in Java.

Prototype

Why create another IDE?
Most IDEs are either too complex or too simple. Why not select only the right features we need and redesign the interface to make programming easier for students. The IDE for Education interface gives familiarity to students with only the needed buttons for the current tab. All hassles of creating backups, finding how to word wrap, and changing font sizes are no longer an issue. The IDE is ideal for Programming 1 Courses where creating projects and packages are unnecessary. Error messages during compile-time can also be mapped to more student-friendly explanations.

A Local and Private Microblog using Laconica

Staying up-to-date to your friends' activities can be so easy today with microblog services like Twitter and Plurk. A microblog is quite similar to a weblog except that users enter their entries in at most 140 characters. It forces users to write shortly but often. These services allow users to share multimedia clips and Internet sites easily. Although community interactions using these services can be useful and fun, some people prefer to blog privately (perhaps they tend to express easily and openly). While users are given the choice to make their timelines or pages entirely private, having a local, offline, and private microblog in your own PC is another option.

LClock Review: A Calendar

Using only 600KB of memory, occupying less than 2MB of disk space, and running without the need of installing it in your system, LClock (Longhorn Systray Clock) is a tiny calendar and alarm that looks and works good. The software have been existing since 2004. Though it may seem to be oudated or unsupported or it does not have a perfect official site, the program is one of the simple but good calendar app around. It enables you to customize the clock style, and allows you to view the calendar in an instant click on the clock, similar to Vista's feature. Users are free to customize a lot of settings particularly the styles of the calendar and the clock.

Miranda IM Review

This is my first review post. Today, I am sharing to you my two-year experience in using Miranda IM 0.7. The project started around 2000, and the team is currently working on version 0.8. Some might have already heard or seen this great program, or others might ask how and why this review is worth reading.

Miranda IM is an open source multiprotocol instant messaging application for Windows. It's similar to Linux' (and also for Windows') Pidgin (formerly GAIM), Trillian Messenger, Digsby, or a desktop version for Meebo. Whether you have single or multiple accounts, Miranda IM is something you should consider.