HTTP method primer for RESTful web services

The following is just a reminder to stop me from getting confused ;-) GET Used to fetch a resource. The server sends back a representation of the resource in the response body. Safe operation (see below). DELETE Used to delete a resource. The response from a server may contain a status message or nothing at all. It is usually nice to send back at least a 204 (No Content). Idempotent operation (see below)....

Using a Samsung TV as an external monitor

Here's a weird bug. I connected my macbook pro to my Samsung widescreen TV - it was detected but I had to select 59.9 as the refresh rate (rather than then autodetected 60) otherwise the TV just sat there with a message that I was using an unsupported display setting. That's fine but how to do this in clamshell mode as macs seem not to share monitor settings between dual monitor mode and clamshell mode (or for that matter a mac mini connected to the same TV)?...

Asynchronous HTML and HTTP

This post is to remind me that the next time that I am asked to consider using AJAX on a project to actually have a more careful think about the project's design and user interaction requirements. If I take the time to look at what I really need to retrieve dynamically then will AHAH do a better job more simply than AJAX & DOM manipulation? Will it make my application easier to test?...

How to resize iTunes on OSX

I've updated to a smaller macbook - unfortunately iTunes remembered its previous size. Usually you can go to the Window > Zoom menu bar option and resize a wayward mac application, but iTunes just turns itself into a little application - not quite what I wanted. However, if you hold Alt/Option key while you click on Window > Zoom in the menu bar, iTunes will resize itself to fit the available screen area....

What is using my USB drive?

For a while I’ve been trying to find out what is using my external USB hard disk on my mac when I want to eject it. Its been driving me batty and I usually resort to a few choice expletives before pulling out the cable anyway. Recently I read about the lsof terminal command - for example: lsof /Volumes/BACKUPHD This shows you what processes are currently busy stuffing around the specific volume....

Bluetooth fun and games

My application for an iPhone was rejected last week. Apparently I am not a good credit risk for O2 even though I can buy the iPhone and a 12 month contract outright. I wonder if Apple know how many customers are turned away by O2's business practices? So I have bought myself a Sony Ericcson W980. Very nice little toy, looks very cool, 8GB memory and a 3.2 megapixel camera. Oh yes, Vodafone don't seem to think that I am unworthy of a phone plan....

New line in Excel on Mac

Excel drives me nuts. I have to keep on searching the web just to remember that in a spreadsheet cell you need to press <CTRL><ALT><ENTER> to type in a new line, since simply pressing enter moves you out of the cell. Now that I've blogged about it, I may actually remember how to do it later....

How to create a VARCHAR GUID in Oracle

Just use this magical incantation: RAWTOHEX(SYS_GUID())...