tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14589409516665894872024-03-16T02:09:01.942+01:00In perfect (spherical) shape...or how to be heavyweight and agile at the same timeAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.comBlogger411125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1458940951666589487.post-51553084321079196742013-12-02T10:12:00.000+01:002013-12-02T10:12:20.798+01:00Google+ gets physical!Thanks to <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+DavideCremonesi" target="_blank">Davide</a>, some weeks ago I had the pleasure and the privilege of being one of the speakers at the <a href="http://www.gdg-milano.org/content/devfest-2013-lombardia" target="_blank">Google Developers Groups DevFest Lombardia</a> in Milano. Being part of such an event, surrounded by many brilliant speakers, is not a responsibility to be taken lightly. I hope I have managed the task, and if the attendees have had at least half the fun I've had I consider myseld more than satisfied (this sentences reminds me a little bit of the parting speech of Bilbo Baggins, so if you find I have not expressed myself clearly enough please assume it was intentional)<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="356" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/28797904" style="border-width: 1px 1px 0; border: 1px solid #CCC; margin-bottom: 5px;" width="427"> </iframe> <br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px;">
<b> <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/andreamoz/google-gets-physical" target="_blank" title="Google+ gets physical!">Google+ gets physical!</a> </b> from <b><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/andreamoz" target="_blank">Andrea Maietta</a></b> </div>
<br />
The talk presents an introduction to the Google+ platform (thanks to Google for the materials), and shows how easy it is to go
beyond social as we know it and bring it to a different level in the
Internet of Things.<br />
<br />
It was great to meet so many brilliant people, some of which were so lucky to be in Mountain View the following week, so I'm looking forward to the next DevFest! Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1458940951666589487.post-73818751751901625762013-09-08T01:37:00.003+02:002013-09-08T01:45:13.774+02:00A bit of fun with Zend Framework 2After writing web applications in Java for about ten years, we recently approached PHP. After a bit of training and experiments on the Zend Framework 1, before starting to actually work on a real product we decided to switch to the <a href="http://framework.zend.com/" target="_blank">Zend Framework 2</a> (mostly because of a great <a href="http://www.zfday.it/" target="_blank">Zend Framework Day</a>).<br />
But it was only after a few months that my colleagues had started to use the framework that I eventually joined them.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="http://www.zfday.it/img/zf2_logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189" src="http://www.zfday.it/img/zf2_logo.png" width="320" /></a>At the beginning it was really frustrating. After ten years of Java, getting "back" to PHP has been somehow weird: I kept using dots instead of arrows, always forgot the dollar sign before variables, yet insisting on declaring their types. Not to mention the syntax to declare and use arrays (which, to tell the truth, I never remember also in Java). But these were not problems, just minor diversions.<br />
<br />
My real problem was that I didn't know what happened under the hood, and I mostly proceeded tentatively. In the Zend Framework 2, of which by the way I have quite a good opinion, so many things happen automagically, and some of them are not very well documented. I mean, thanks for a <a href="http://framework.zend.com/manual/2.2/en/user-guide/overview.html" target="_blank">great tutorial for beginners</a> and all, but... why on earth do I have to create an album/album directory for the view? Would it be so terrible to say that there is a folder for the module and one for the controller? Or to explain how camel case turns to dashes and dashes turn to... what do they turn to?<br />
<br />
And so, even the simplest tasks seemed daunting. Then, after banging my head on the wall for a while, I slowly started to get the gist of it, up to the point that now I feel quite confident, at least for the basic things. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />
And then, suddenly (snaps glove), you get a break... all the pieces seem to fit into place</blockquote>
<br />
And, hear, I started to enjoy playing with it: controllers, factories, autoloading... and, last but not least, tests. And (and, even if this was
the fifth and in such few a lines, I somehow managed to slap in a sixth and a seventh one) I slowly switched from "how the hell do I get this parameter from
the route?" back to "where should I put the responsibility of
horizontally filtering data"? <br />
<br />
Up to the point that I am seriously considering the possibility to REALLY get way out of my comfort zone and submit a proposal for one of the next conferences introducing the framework for beginners like me, trying to smooth the path I have lightly trodden with so many difficulties.<br />
<br />
Hey, maybe it's only me, maybe I'm particularly dumb... but then again, somebody could find it useful. As always, I'm wide open for suggestions... but closed for modification :-)<br />
<br />
As an end note, I'd like to thank <a href="https://twitter.com/sapanto" target="_blank">Antonio</a> for being so patient and putting up with my musings, questions and doubts. Looking forward to some more programming fun time together!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1458940951666589487.post-51694081645527749552013-05-02T13:28:00.000+02:002013-05-02T17:39:24.135+02:00I broke a build... let's celebrate!<p>Some three years ago I wrote <a href="http://andreamoz.blogspot.it/2009/11/how-to-test-very-particular-factory.html">a small test</a> for a very particular factory: it worked pretty well, even if I've never really liked the constraints imposed by the requirements about the exception that is expected to be thrown.</p>
<p>Yesterday, not quite unexpectedly, the build was broken.</p>
<p>Obviously this is not really a unit test, as it depends on real data, so I'd call it more an integration test. Anyway, the data changed and the test failed, thus breaking the build. Normally I wouldn't be so happy. Yet in this case, even if it might be an antipattern (it clearly is), I think I won't change the test to be independent from data, but change the test instead:</p>
<pre class="brush:java">@Test(expected=IllegalArgumentException.class)
public void makeBaby() {
Family family = moz.getFamily();
assertEquals(3, family.getChildren().size());
BabyFactory factory = family.getWife();
Baby babyboy = factory.makeBabyBoy("Ethan");
assertNotNull(babyboy);
family.addChild(babyboy);
assertEquals(4, family.getChildren().size());
boss.askForRaise(moz);
}</pre>
<br />
Now I'm only waiting for the requirements to change so that I can remove the exception...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1458940951666589487.post-43429158982590257952013-02-04T16:22:00.001+01:002013-02-04T16:29:19.192+01:00PHP Application Development with NetBeans: a reviewAfter too much time I've been able to review "<a href="http://www.packtpub.com/php-application-development-with-netbeans-beginners-guide/book" target="_blank">PHP Application Development with NetBeans: Beginner's Guide</a>" by M.A. Hossain Tonu, published bky Packt. The official description of the book says that it's "aimed at PHP developers who wish to develop PHP applications while taking advantage of NetBeans functionality to ease their software development efforts and utilize the powerful features of the IDE. Familiarity with NetBeans is not assumed. However, a little familiarity with PHP development is expected.".<br />
<br />
TLDR? You can skip the review and jump to the rating. Of course that would kill my ego, but if you still want to stab me in the back <a href="#TLDR">here's your knife</a>. Et tu, Brute?</br></br>
<h3>A small disclaimer </h3>
I do have a little familiarity with PHP development, and I have a strong familiarity with NetBeans, being a NetBeans Certified Professional, so while on the one hand I belong to the right target, on the other hand I might get extra-critical. Well, the book has been reviewed by no less than six professionals, so I guess my rants can happily and safely be ignored.<br />
<br />
I must also note that I have received a free copy of the book in exchange for the review.<br /><br />
<h3>Here we go </h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.packtpub.com/sites/default/files/5801OS_NetBeans%20PHP%20Application%20Development%20Beginner%27s%20Guide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.packtpub.com/sites/default/files/5801OS_NetBeans%20PHP%20Application%20Development%20Beginner's%20Guide.jpg" width="259" /></a></div>
As every Packt book I've seen (and I've not seen a few) the fonts are easy on the eye and there are many clear pictures. A bit of critic on the code sections, sometimes too long and with a lot of boilerplate that could be found in a downloadable file (it actually is) or confined in an appendix dedicated to the complete code.<br />
<br />
Every now and then there are some "Pop quiz" sections, short multiple
choice questions. As a rule of thumb I am not very impressed, because
they remind me too much of a braindump. I'm OK with the ones on
concepts, but not so much with the ones regarding actions, for which I'd
rather have more hands-on. Speaking of which, we have the "have a go
hero" sections, that often asks us to do completely new things rather
than insisting on variations of what has already been done: that can be
seen as a plus or a minus, depending on the eyes of the reader.<br />
<br />
The first chapter guides the reader through the installation of the IDE and the whole stack environment. Having everything already installed (see initial disclaimer) I didn't check each and every passage, but everything seems very well explained and pretty much the way I remembered it.<br />
<br />
The second chapter introduces the editor, yet I'm afraid it doesn't effectively convey all its power and potential, many things have been left unsaid or have not been deepened enough, like the possibility to customize the code templates and the folding criteria, not to mention specific editors for other languages.<br />
<br />
One thing I didn't like is the position of the shortcuts, which are often presented out of context and way after the corresponding feature has been described. I think that an approach like "this is your action, and this is its shortcut" would be much better, as the proximity helps to sink the concept in. <br />
<br />
The chapter follows the "here's the theory, try it in practice" pattern, yet I find the loop between the two to be too long. This is an issue throughout all the book (at least, it is in my opinion). A little less conversation, a little more action.<br />
<br />
The third chapter introduces us to project in which we complete a whole user story. It starts with a description of the technologies used, then slowly presents all the code. The chapter is very similar in concept and structure to the seventh one, in which the skeleton for an enterprise feature (user registration, login and logout) is presented. In both cases there is a lot (trust me, when I say a lot I mean it, particularly in chapter 7) of code before we can actually see something working. Forgive me for the politically uncorrect comparison to another publisher, but from this point of view the "Head First" series are much better, as they start with something working, then they slowly build things up.<br />
<br />
Moreover, the chapters are more about the technologies used in the application rather than NetBeans. Chapter 7 in my opinion is even worse, because it deals with more advanced subjects that a beginner probably doesn't know. OK, take the probably away. Yet, ironically, after several patterns and abstractions, and almost at the end of the book, the author says "it is recommended that you are familiar with PHP sessions and cookies in this tutorial", a subject simpler than many others that are taken for granted.<br />
<br />
Chapter 4 is on testing and debugging, it's quite good (I must admit I had some problems with my instance of PEAR but that has nothing to do with the book). Some more details on Selenium would do no harm, at least a screenshot of the results should be inserted.<br />
<br />
Chapter 5 deals with documenting your code and it's quite good. It also happens to be the chapter that you can <a href="http://www.packtpub.com/sites/default/files/9781849515801-Chapter-05.pdf" target="_blank">download</a> to evaluate the book.<br />
<br />
Chapter 6 is about versioning with git and NetBeans. It's not bad, yet it does not show how to unstage a file (why not a have a go hero here?). Another feature that's dealt with too lightly is merging, and the resolution of conflicts is only briefly cited. And, talking about versioning, chapter 2 ends with a warning about the position of NetBeans metadata directory with respect to versioning, but it does not explain the consequences of the choice; some hints or advice would be nice.<br /></br />
<a name="TLDR"></a>
<h3>
TLDR</h3>
Now, here we are with the conclusions. If you skipped all the article to jump to this section, please feel a little guilty.<br />
<br />
The book should be an introduction, yet some PHP concept are quite advanced for a beginner. It helps you to get up and running with a complete environment and introduces you to many features of NetBeans, yet some important things are left out. All in all, in my very personal scale the books rates 3.5 our of 5.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1458940951666589487.post-4328951691874473582012-09-06T22:19:00.000+02:002012-09-06T22:20:45.901+02:00An introduction to the Internet of ThingsWould you like to visit Florence? Book for the weekend of September, 22 and plan for another week in which yon can enjoy two great conferences by <a href="http://www.develer.com/">Develer</a>: <a href="http://www.betterembedded.it/">Better Embedded</a> and <a href="http://www.bettersoftware.it/">Better Software</a>.<br />
I will be presenting a talk with <a href="http://zmaker.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Paolo</a> (as usual) on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_of_Things" target="_blank">Internet of Things</a>: we'll see how to talk to the world and listen to what the world has to say. You can see all the details of our talk at <a href="http://www.betterembedded.it/conference/talks/introduzione-a-internet-delle-cose-fai-twittare-la-tua-caffettiera-in-5-minuti" target="_blank">the official page</a>.<br />
Meet you there!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1458940951666589487.post-15391605541252391392012-07-12T12:25:00.000+02:002012-07-12T12:28:06.619+02:00Physical computing: all around youAnother year, another <a href="http://www.whymca.org/" target="_blank">WhyMCA</a> conference. As always, the organization of the event was awsome, so first of all I'd like to thank Alfredo, Andrea, Paolo and Riccardo (strictly in alphabetical order) for all their effort: I'm sure that the great results have rewarded them well.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2pAzzkcU-XDK15kZW-8hIjFk5OIyVcMJhyphenhyphenvDxZhNBNY9L-ud4MtxelqngHH_jwznf6KcztvsnAzJHIJiDTVOWHlkJGLzbI2_9jyont1Vnj0GH8JnMjQMepVDdg0bSzYW3cakIhKR5U8aa/s1600/421571_445639998789215_725517614_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2pAzzkcU-XDK15kZW-8hIjFk5OIyVcMJhyphenhyphenvDxZhNBNY9L-ud4MtxelqngHH_jwznf6KcztvsnAzJHIJiDTVOWHlkJGLzbI2_9jyont1Vnj0GH8JnMjQMepVDdg0bSzYW3cakIhKR5U8aa/s400/421571_445639998789215_725517614_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
As neither <a href="http://zmaker.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Paolo</a> nor I were slaughtered by angry birds or unhappy attendees after <a href="http://andreamoz.blogspot.it/search/label/WhyMCA" target="_blank">our last talk</a>, we decided to risk our already ruined reputation and to give <a href="http://www.whymca.org/intervento/physical-computing-tutto-intorno-te" target="_blank">another speech on physical computing</a>. For the lazy ones here are the slides we used:<br />
<br /><div style="width:427px" id="__ss_13528969"> <strong style="display:block;margin:12px 0 4px"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/andreamoz/physical-computing-tutto-intorno-a-te" title="Physical Computing - Tutto intorno a te" target="_blank">Physical Computing - Tutto intorno a te</a></strong> <iframe src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/13528969?rel=0" width="427" height="356" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" style="border:1px solid #CCC;border-width:1px 1px 0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div style="padding:5px 0 12px"> View more presentations from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/andreamoz" target="_blank">Andrea Maietta</a> </div> </div>
<br />
All the details and the complete video of our talk can be found <a href="http://www.whymca.org/intervento/physical-computing-tutto-intorno-te" target="_blank">on the official page</a> of the conference. Thanks to all the attendees for not falling asleep while we walked through the 146 slides (probably the excitement for the incoming mojito party gave a little help). By the way, the hotel staff were only expecting about 20 people, imagine them preparing 200 mojitos for overheated developers!<br />
<br />
See you next year - and let everyone know that Alfredo Morresi is a friend of mine :-)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1458940951666589487.post-65426191599781658272012-04-23T23:01:00.001+02:002012-04-23T23:01:40.797+02:00Anti-if workshop #4During the last weekend I have attended an intense three days <a href="http://www.antiifworkshop.com/" target="_blank">workshop</a> lead by<a href="http://www.fcgarage.com/francesco.html" target="_blank"> Francesco Cirillo</a> on the importance of objects in Object Oriented Programming. Maybe you're reckoning it should be obvious, after all the name states it crystal clear.<br />
<br />
Yet, too often we (at least I do) translate the concept to something we could call <i>Class Oriented Programming</i>. Don't get me wrong, classes are good, but only to evaluate the design after we have carefully and thouroghly worked with objects, scenario after scenario. Classes can be confusing, because they solve many different problems: they actually consolidate all the objects that solve each scenario. Then we must start from objects, which means that we should start with a single scenario.<br />
<br />
So what is an object?<br />
<br />
An object is not only "state and behavior", as we often hear. An object is an instance of a class, but this definition does not add anything to our knowledge (and moves the focus back on classes, where we don't want to keep it).<br />
<br />
We used a <span class="short_text" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">phenomenological </span></span>definition:
an object is characterized by a series of operations that operate on
the object itself and by a state that keeps track of the effects of the
said operations (please help me to rewrite it avoiding the pun). <br />
<br />
What did I learn? I did not learn to truly think with objects, as three days are not enough to overcome many years of bad habits (I can see clearly now the rain has gone), but I learned that I must strive to do it. And I have some more tools in my shed, even if I have to learn how to use them properly :-)<br />
<br />
In a few words, the workshop was completely different from what I was expecting, but I suppose it's been much more effective this way. If I survive from all the homeworks Francesco gave us, I'll plan to write more about it.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.antiifcampaign.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="I have joined Anti-IF Campaign" border="0" src="http://www.antiifcampaign.com/assets/banner_ive-joined.gif" title="" /></a>Meanwhile, join the anti-if campaign as I did a long time ago. <br />
<br />
Thanks again to Francesco and to all the brilliant guys I had the luck to meet there... looking forward to meeting you all soon!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1458940951666589487.post-61729218364271770162012-04-23T22:18:00.003+02:002012-04-23T22:19:16.532+02:00Another Grand Slam for WalesI know, I know... I'm late, very late, way too late. Nevertheless, I could not let it pass :-) I only wonder what would have happened if Wales beat France in the world cup semi-final...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9GZ9MOF_do_RT-wP6D9ZDkMmvMqaVX5aTABDBu7BodY7CpNjrxS_atrPVWy-I06AIb5lCy0-faZL4m_46QdmLGq5ljCE5U1OSX_voaeOc4UQqca7HBpl6kugLVDie8ANKgG04BrXVPEjz/s1600/WalesCelebration2WalesFranceSB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9GZ9MOF_do_RT-wP6D9ZDkMmvMqaVX5aTABDBu7BodY7CpNjrxS_atrPVWy-I06AIb5lCy0-faZL4m_46QdmLGq5ljCE5U1OSX_voaeOc4UQqca7HBpl6kugLVDie8ANKgG04BrXVPEjz/s320/WalesCelebration2WalesFranceSB.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1458940951666589487.post-58284602641689922262012-03-11T20:51:00.005+01:002012-03-11T21:05:09.633+01:00Don't pass (too) backwardsThis is one of the most common mistakes I always see whenever I watch Italy play. The Welsh pas the ball almost parallel to the end line, so that the players have to accelerate to catch it: this gives them an advantage in the impacts, while Italians have to slow down, or they are already still, waiting for the ball to come into their hands.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9dofLumsqyMI8oT0lRWZpLJcr12rMoT5z2KyVceXp82Zvp_Ch6s6F59Ba_ediI_tBj6zRf80-PLm-NWS_G8Cd22KbjB5gs0umiwZjCxAOqIyC43tXieePRtvHdOkTqSA6jfhSZAL0facv/s1600/SergioParriseWalItaSB.jpg"></a>It should not be so hard, I remember Santa teaching us that trick when we were 15 years old. I can't believe that players of a national team still have not learned it.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHd5x9zHGeFfrL0yyeLsQy4_WWaqiGDweNdZRSCa1_BGzhW84sR_hZ2RmCy3chYMJiIWUOFReOXoP7lKoSIT1IVnKANta7XBFDIGdBPEQNHO5NogLChbv9Eq97qA3SuKCrADb2-egBQQ3/s1600/SergioParriseWalItaSB.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYHd5x9zHGeFfrL0yyeLsQy4_WWaqiGDweNdZRSCa1_BGzhW84sR_hZ2RmCy3chYMJiIWUOFReOXoP7lKoSIT1IVnKANta7XBFDIGdBPEQNHO5NogLChbv9Eq97qA3SuKCrADb2-egBQQ3/s400/SergioParriseWalItaSB.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718732991447442210" border="0" /></a><br />Pity for all the missed tackles. On the other hand, Halfpenny could avoid to hit Parisse while he was in the air. Anyway, the final 24-3 says it all.<br /><br />Next turn: Italy and Scotland will battle for the wooden spoon, while I hope to see the Wales defeat the French team to secure a Grand Slam (they already won the Triple Crown). Shall the Dragons have great years like in the Seventies?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1458940951666589487.post-59068711339155755572012-02-13T01:08:00.005+01:002012-02-13T01:26:52.024+01:00This was closerI must admit that this time I really thought we could do it. Italy had never beaten England before, and it could have been a hard blow for the Whites of the Rose. Sadly, Italy still has to master the fine art of kicking to points, an art which their opponents seem to know well. At the end of the match the field was not the only cold thing in the stadium, and we hope that the Azzurri are not paving their way to another wooden spoon.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi44QPMv7xvBENphGMywfFpodafih4-MjAj-S7sIJkt3Gkye8bo8WNH4dISL-VzLheNo2mk6idGOUFMj0mSMVWBOaHyMooIR-eezc-Zvc7kT83UYowtWObqeuLi6hzo3BXZPwqZCXaZf0Qn/s1600/TommasoBenvenutiItaEng12SB2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi44QPMv7xvBENphGMywfFpodafih4-MjAj-S7sIJkt3Gkye8bo8WNH4dISL-VzLheNo2mk6idGOUFMj0mSMVWBOaHyMooIR-eezc-Zvc7kT83UYowtWObqeuLi6hzo3BXZPwqZCXaZf0Qn/s400/TommasoBenvenutiItaEng12SB2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708407194961655682" border="0" /></a><br />How much time has to pass before images like this one become the norm? Will Italy be able to really be one of the big dogs? Will my friend James ever stop smirking at me?<br /><br />Ok, forget it, the last one would really be impossible... but one can still dream, can't he?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1458940951666589487.post-34742675541567082572012-01-21T03:14:00.006+01:002012-01-21T03:53:46.950+01:00The rules of the blame gameThere should be no (bad) rivalry between different teams of the same company, just that healthy sense of competition that always pushes you to do better. Yet, sometimes you can witness disfunctional behaviours that flow into a blame game.<br /><br />Just to be clear: blame games are useless, they waste people's time and eat your liver. If you still want to play, you should at least know the rules.<br /><br />One of these rules is very simple: CYA. When you're talking nonsense you're not covering it very well. Example: check this excerpt from a conversation between a system engineer and a developer:<br /><br />Sys: The server is not working. The problem is the application.<br />Dev: The servlet container can only use less than 1GB of RAM, the logs show an occupation of more than 1.5GB. Could it be the antivirus?<br />Sys: Out of question.<br />Dev: How can you be so sure?<br />Sys: If it was the antivirus then the server would never work.<br />Dev: Right... then it must not be the application, otherwise it would never work, even without an antivirus :-p<br /><br />Sounds insane? Yeah, the same that I thought. In another domain it would sound something like this:<br /><br />Doctor1: The patient has a bad cough.<br />Doctor2: It must be the lungs.<br />Doctor1: Out of question.<br />Doctor2: How can you be so sure?<br />Doctor1: If it was the lungs then the patient would always have a bad cough<br /><br />WTF??? have you ever heard something like this? do you realize there's something weird? do one of the doctors sound like an idiot? would one of the doctors lose your trust?<br /><br />Remember: you cannot blame anyone when you're not covering your you-know-what, otherwise you could be, well, you know. <br /><br />And, if you'll accept a hint, don't blame anyone, even if you're in a full cast iron armor. We got there because we got there, now it's time to go on, so let's go on.<br /><br />You'll have more time and less enemies, and you will always get a better result.<br /><br />When you see a disfunctional conversation on the horizon, keep in mind that the best thing you can do is sail away and avoid it. If you're stuck in it, escape.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1458940951666589487.post-51674930685161209492012-01-21T02:09:00.005+01:002012-01-21T02:44:35.479+01:00Automated vs manual testingYesterday I had an interesting tweetversation (it actually looks like this word exists) with <a href="http://twitter.com/lunivore" target="_blank">@lunivore</a> which started with this sentence:<br /><blockquote>My #1 suggestion for legacy code: If it works, and you change it, check that it still works. If there aren't any tests, run the app already.</blockquote><br />I replied something about writing tests, and the discussion went on with several interesting remarks that made me think. As on many others, here's one thing on which I agree with Liz: <span style="font-weight: bold;">automated tests do not imply that your app is working as it should</span>. I have seen it too many times to be so naive. It could be (almost) true if our code coverage was perfect, but let's face it, it is not. Please note that I'm not talking about having tests on getters. We should have unit tests, integration tests, end-to-end tests, there-is-no-try-yoda-tests and everything you can think of as long as it ends with "tests" for almost everything. And more often than not we don't.<br /><br />And even if we did, tests are not users. Well they are, but they are not the users we're most interested in: those who receive value from our app.<br /><br />Automated tests are very important, but in the end they only are our safety net (even if they also guarantee our customers), but in the end it all comes up to real users.<br /><br />Automated tests never sign checks, users do. Or at least the bosses of users do. Then, if we belong to that overrated category of people that still insist on eating every day (possibly more than once), we shoud strive to have happy users more than happy tests.<br /><br />Automated tests are one of our means, not our ends. Let's not forget it.<br /><br />PS don't forget to follow Liz on <a href="http://twitter.com/lunivore">Twitter</a> and on <a href="http://lizkeogh.com/" target="_blank">her blog</a>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1458940951666589487.post-48698190538620241182011-11-21T22:18:00.005+01:002011-11-21T22:34:42.351+01:00Startup without falldown: the slidesHere are the slides of my talk "Startup without falldown: strategic planning beyond wishful thinking", held at the 8th Italian Agile Day in Rome:<br /><div style="width:425px" id="__ss_10239237"> <strong style="display:block;margin:12px 0 4px"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/andreamoz/startup-senza-falldown" title="Startup senza falldown" target="_blank">Startup senza falldown</a></strong> <iframe src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/10239237" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" height="355" width="425"></iframe> <div style="padding:5px 0 12px"> View more <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/" target="_blank">presentations</a> from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/andreamoz" target="_blank">Andrea Maietta</a> </div> </div>I'd like to thank everyone who has attended, I hope I haven't wasted their time. If you are one of the lucky (???) ones, please help me to improve and leave a feedback <a href="http://t.co/83vstgR0" target="_blank">here</a>.<br /><br />If you want an exhaustive bibliography please register <a href="http://www.skyrocket.it/" target="_blank">here</a> and you'll receive it in a few days, with a bonus mind map of the talk.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1458940951666589487.post-75696785802523424652011-10-24T00:18:00.004+02:002011-10-24T00:26:10.363+02:00Goodbye Sic<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgewcCCRPogC47P-S_t2FPVFZXiWCD2U3Pxw8DeSEyvoSnePlYvaJmwN2h49fWVg1kQ4xqpimRdK6usfQuUb7-HS4BT6oVaj9vjAskk2ifzesN6yV8yd_dOR7hzyTYs-VUEe90Jqac7CIx5/s1600/ciao2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgewcCCRPogC47P-S_t2FPVFZXiWCD2U3Pxw8DeSEyvoSnePlYvaJmwN2h49fWVg1kQ4xqpimRdK6usfQuUb7-HS4BT6oVaj9vjAskk2ifzesN6yV8yd_dOR7hzyTYs-VUEe90Jqac7CIx5/s400/ciao2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666816363121732354" border="0" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1458940951666589487.post-41225452078767280502011-10-19T22:57:00.003+02:002011-10-19T23:13:57.085+02:00Startup without falldown: strategic planning beyond wishful thinkingThe official program for the 8th Italian Agile Day has been officially <a href="http://www.agileday.it/front/programma-2011/" target="_blank">published</a>. I am really happy (and a bit surprised) to see that <a href="http://www.agileday.it/front/programma-2011/startup-senza-falldown/" target="_blank">my talk</a> has made it to the final 26: I am sure that many of the talks that were left out would have been really interesting, so I'd better work really hard to be up to the task. Even because I know that the conference normally has quite a high bar...<br /><br />It is always difficult to pick one of the talks that are held at the same time, and this year I will lose one more than I did in the previous years. I hope all sessions will be recorded, as it seems, so I'll be able to see them later.<br /><br />Meet you there... And don't forget to <a href="http://www.agileday.it/front/registrazione/" target="_blank">register and donate</a> :-)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1458940951666589487.post-74871865113520598862011-10-10T23:19:00.002+02:002011-10-10T23:31:29.834+02:00Agile Day: independent, thanks to donationsThe Agile Day is an event organized by members of the Italian agile community.<br /><br />To mantain its independence, and at the same time guarantee both a quality programme and free access to registered attendants, in the last years the Agile Day has chosen a brave strategy: sustain itself with self-financing.<br /><br />This choice has proven itself effective, and the Agile Day has reached its eighth edition and more than six hundred attendants in 2010.<br /><br />The donations obtained from participants, enthusiasts and professionals that daily work with agile methods represent the esteem and the affection that the Agile Day has been able to conquer year after year.<br /><br />All the raised money will allow the organization to reach the organizational targets that will make a great Agile Day.<br /><br />That's why everyone committment becomes essential, every single donation is a step towards the success of the Agile Day.<br /><br />The Agile Day will be held in Rome on November 19, 2011.<br />The access will be, as always, free.<br />All details can be found on <a href="http://agileday.it/">the official site</a>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1458940951666589487.post-22985429770398883502011-10-02T22:29:00.008+02:002011-10-02T22:57:27.855+02:00PMBA & The Frankenstein Garage experience<h3>Who we are</h3>We are a small team of IT experts, and we have been working for a while trying to create something of our own, in addition to our daily jobs. We definitively are bootstrappers, because we don’t have so many bucks in our pockets (and even if we had, we’d want to use each penny wisely).<br /><br /><h3>How it started</h3>We knew pretty well that being an expert on a given technical subject is not enough to help you start a business. None of us has an MBA, but we wouldn’t let that hinder us, so we have started reading a lot of business related books - actually devouring them: finance, marketing, business, innovation. We wanted to reach a level of understanding similar to that of an "institutional" and much more expensive MBA. Being technicians, we're really pragmatic and believe in practical and operational knowledge, so we’ve rolled up our sleeves and delved into the groove.<br /><br /><h3>Frankenstein Garage</h3>The project we’re working on is called Frankenstein Garage, and it’s going to be the first FabLab in Milan. FabLab stands for Fabrication Laboratory (but also for Faboulous Laboratory), and it is a place where people can make (almost) anything. The first FabLab was born at the MIT in Boston to support a course held by Neil Gershenfeld. The laboratory, beyond the usual tools you can find in any lab, will have tools for digital fabrication, like 3D printers or CNC machines: this means that the machines will sort of “automagically” build things out of CAD drawings.<br /><br />We employ waste materials (electronic, electric and mechanical) to develop low cost prototypes and to be green. Our experience in the IT world has taught us that being agile is the right choice almost in everything: that’s why the early stage of our prototypes heavily involves the use of LEGO bricks.<br /><br />To sustain our activities we have developed our MEVO: the ABNormal, a little micro-controller board, which we’ll be ready to sell in a matter of days.<br /><br /><h3>How PMBA helped us</h3>A few months ago we have found on Google a link to Josh Kaufman's wonderful list of books, to find that we had already read many of them. Obviously we've bought PMBA as soon as it became available, read and re-read it and, most of all, started to use it, putting into good use all the knowledge distilled into it. We consult it almost daily and follow the advices contained in it each and every day: Kaufman's work has proven really useful for very busy startuppers like us.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvWOajH6vd1zxp-I1GgWLVC4XHNezcoQgfglnhX0LV4sL-8x-tjXkB3DZyLahgRUCmuLlJUmQHW12WNszSyi2t0cgMMMfnd7p5fH0v-UaJ974dQM4DgmNCvywwo1lvFIqtMN2YnpzD36s3/s1600/pmba-MMap-cap2.png"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 160px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvWOajH6vd1zxp-I1GgWLVC4XHNezcoQgfglnhX0LV4sL-8x-tjXkB3DZyLahgRUCmuLlJUmQHW12WNszSyi2t0cgMMMfnd7p5fH0v-UaJ974dQM4DgmNCvywwo1lvFIqtMN2YnpzD36s3/s320/pmba-MMap-cap2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659001360192918210" border="0" /></a>As PMBA helps us a lot as a quick reference, we have also created some mind-maps from the book, to achieve faster results: seeing all the concepts in a single glance is really effective and a great time saver, as we can now check multiple aspects in just one shot. This has helped us to develop clear concepts and refine our proposals in an acceptable Business Plan (by the way, Business Model Generation has helped us a lot to prepare for the BP, when shall we see it in the list?).<br /><br />Following the advices found in the book(s) we also won two awards just a few weeks after starting this project: "Dall'Idea all’Impresa" e "Diamo casa a 10 idee creative", which more or less sound like "From idea to business" and "Let’s host 10 creative ideas". That won us, among other services, a free office for year in Milan, and that is really helping us as it means a great saving, leaving our (small) resources for other uses.<br /><br />Interested? check out the official <a href="http://www.frankensteingarage.it/" target="_blank">Frankenstein Garage page</a>!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1458940951666589487.post-67912571517299881692011-09-23T15:11:00.008+02:002011-10-25T10:07:35.740+02:00Angry Birds slung from WhyMCA to VimeoThe video of our talk on Angry Birds is finally online!<br /><br /><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/29362470?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" width="400"></iframe><br /><br />All details can be found on <a href="http://www.whymca.org/intervento/pattern-un-gioco-mobile-di-successo-il-caso-angry-birds" target="_blank">the official site</a>. Thanks again to <a href="http://zmaker.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Paolo</a> for putting up with me and to <a href="http://www.whymca.org/pagina/chi-siamo" target="_blank">the organizers</a> of the event. Looking forward to WhyMCA 2012 :-)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1458940951666589487.post-67080652861502789782011-09-20T23:14:00.002+02:002011-09-20T23:36:49.793+02:00Hard times for reading statsThis year I have no time for reading. I really try, but I can't manage to save myself some time. Up to now I have only read 29 books in 2011, and the last one I finished is a book I started to read in January. What a shame.<br /><br />On the other hand, I've got my hands dirty in <a href="http://blog.frankensteingarage.it/">a lot of things</a>, and this partially justifies the stats. I don't see a lot of free time in my immediate future, but I hope this will change. I still have more than 150 books to read, not to mentions the ones that I have not yet registered in <a href="http://www.anobii.com/andreamoz/books" target="_blank">anobii</a>.<br /><br />Nevertheless, I am looking forward to the 8th of October, not only because it is the anniversary of my friends Katia and Nea, but also because "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lean-Startup-Entrepreneurs-Continuous-Innovation/dp/0307887898" target="_blank">The Lean Startup</a>", an absolute must have, will arrive on the shelf of my favourite bookstore.<br /><br />That said... I'll delve into one of the nine books I'm reading. At the moment, the target for 2011 is a modest 36 (exactly the half of last year), we shall see whether I'll reach it or not.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1458940951666589487.post-47635999839801235862011-08-25T13:08:00.002+02:002011-08-25T13:12:59.299+02:00Page Hyerarchies in WordPressWhile implementing the information architecture of a website based on WordPress, I kept trying to create a hyerarchy between the pages, failing over and over because the "parent" select was nowhere to be seen, even if the label was plainly there, happily mocking me. I googled for what seemes forever without coming out with anything good.
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<br /><blockquote>What a fool. The answer was there, all the time.</blockquote>
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<br />Yet, it just required the smallest amount of brain one can think of. It was <a href="http://nothingnessit.wordpress.com/">Alessandro</a> that pointed me to the simplest solution of them all: you have to publish your pages BEFORE you can use them in a hyerarchy. That's all :-)
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1458940951666589487.post-89626087647867030172011-08-16T00:07:00.012+02:002011-08-16T01:43:12.355+02:00NetBeans IDE 7 Cookbok: a reviewAfter three intense weeks, the last one of which spent tiling floors (I definitely need to improve my speed as a tiler), I've finally been able to complete the review of the "<a href="http://www.packtpub.com/netbeans-ide-7-cookbook/book">NetBeans IDE 7 Cookbook</a>" by Rhawi Dantas published by Packt.
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<br />The book is a collection of recipes (quoting from the text)
<br />
<br /><blockquote>...for everyone that wants to try NetBeans or is beginning with a new technology and would like an uncomplicated way to setup and start coding.</blockquote>
<br />Each recipe consists of four different sections:
<br /><ol><li>Getting ready: it tells you what you will need to follow the recipe (a sort of ingredients list)</li><li>How to do it: the recipe itself</li><li>How it works: an explanation of what is going on behind the curtains (or should I say in the larder?)</li><li>There's more: slight variations or new insights (try adding more red hot chili pepper)</li></ol><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdlIWc5SazXXhTNvX8OywqfJsSXO2AJQHhXLl-DGWTriVrR2wUHc0PHQBwgJOFeA_lOCdfOMGQrPRf-P-SRCM5aV0g1MFKqRtM4VSWpPOgd0-CnWttO8GWI-M0v_6BBx_nA9Cz51mwlxe/s1600/NetBeansIDE7Cookbook.png"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 246px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdlIWc5SazXXhTNvX8OywqfJsSXO2AJQHhXLl-DGWTriVrR2wUHc0PHQBwgJOFeA_lOCdfOMGQrPRf-P-SRCM5aV0g1MFKqRtM4VSWpPOgd0-CnWttO8GWI-M0v_6BBx_nA9Cz51mwlxe/s320/NetBeansIDE7Cookbook.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634311850064657746" border="0" /></a>Before delving into the actual review, a disclaimer is due. I am a NetBeans Certified Specialist, and I have used it since it was not NetBeans yet, so I'm not exactly the intended target for the book and I might get extra critic (did I say "might"? I surely will). That said... let's tuck in (we're talking about recipes, so the bad pun is intended).
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<br />As I said, the book uses a very clear font and has very good and detailed pictures that help you follow the recipes. Sometimes they are a little different from the actual ones, but that is probably due to the fast pacing changes of the software, and this is never a real problem.
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<br />All explanations are clear and easy to follow, even if some are too simplistic, of the kind that makes you say "so what?". The most annoying thing are the uncountable typos, which are in no way accountable to the author, whose main job is to focus on the content.
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<br />I didn't like the recipes structure for different reasons. One of them is that sometimes one or more sections are useless: I really don't expect to find sentences like "...if NetBeans is not currently installed...", what's more I don't expect to see them more than once. Another one is that this structure gives way to a lot of repetitions, which as a (good lazy) developer I try to avoid whenever I can. This is particularly obvious in recipes strictly based on the previous ones. A simple organization in linear chapters would have been much better.
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<br />Another thing I didn't like is the organization of chapters: why wait until chapter 9 for refactoring and until chapter 11 to write about tests, moreover mixed with profiling? In chapter 9 it is said "..refactoring could break code...", and where can you find a better place to introduce tests? (this is a rhetoric question, so if you're answering "chapter 11" either you're wrong or I badly am).
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<br />The old but still good <a href="http://www.amazon.com/NetBeans-IDE-Field-Guide-Applications/dp/0132395525">NetBeans IDE Field Guide</a> had a very different first chapter, which I really appreciated: this is where you get NetBeans, this is how you install it, this is how you create a project, this is how you run it. New class, new method, new test class, debugging. A few pages and you've covered most of what you'll ever need. And you never have to get back on it.
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<br />On the other hand, here I have to wait 200 pages to find that CTRL+R renames almost everything, and a lot of refactoring are forgotten. And the preview option is discussed only ahead in the chapter instead of with the first refactoring.
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<br />Another thing I didn't like is a chapter that requires version 6.9: if this is a cookbook based on version 7 you should stick with it, at the most mentioning the fact that the previous version also supported JavaFX. There are so many things that are not supported anymore that could fill another book. By the way, when will we have Struts2 natively integrated instead of Struts1?
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<br />Leaving aside the fact that the chapter on version control does not deal with cvs (ops... did I write it aloud?) I was a little disappointed by the fact that most of the interesting things about the IDE are never mentioned: how do I start it with a different JVM? how can I configure projects for each developer's unique environment? (I know it is an antipattern, but it happens even in the best families). What are libraries in the NetBeans vocabulary (a hint: they are not jars) and how do you manually edit them? Shall we talk about the very powerful editor? where are code templates, except for the python example in chapter 10 in which is never said how to distribute your plugin or what the NetBeans Platform is? Can I only generate a web service from an EJB? (another rhetoric question). And many, many more.
<br />
<br />All in all, the book is not that bad, but in my grumpy-old-man biased opinion it does not get past a 3 out of 5. Obviously you don't have to entirely rely on my words, as you can download the <a href="http://www.packtpub.com/sites/default/files/2503OS-Chapter-7-EJB-Application.pdf?utm_source=packtpub&utm_medium=free&utm_campaign=pdf">free chapter on EJB</a> which you can use as a means to get a general impression.
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1458940951666589487.post-6626971202465904422011-07-28T09:55:00.004+02:002011-07-28T10:08:34.162+02:00Coming soon: a review on NetBeans IDE 7 CookbookNetBeans users (and curious) stay tuned, I'll be soon reviewing the "<a href="http://www.packtpub.com/netbeans-ide-7-cookbook/book">NetBeans IDE 7 Cookbook</a>" by Rhawi Dantas published by Packt.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdlIWc5SazXXhTNvX8OywqfJsSXO2AJQHhXLl-DGWTriVrR2wUHc0PHQBwgJOFeA_lOCdfOMGQrPRf-P-SRCM5aV0g1MFKqRtM4VSWpPOgd0-CnWttO8GWI-M0v_6BBx_nA9Cz51mwlxe/s1600/NetBeansIDE7Cookbook.png"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 246px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdlIWc5SazXXhTNvX8OywqfJsSXO2AJQHhXLl-DGWTriVrR2wUHc0PHQBwgJOFeA_lOCdfOMGQrPRf-P-SRCM5aV0g1MFKqRtM4VSWpPOgd0-CnWttO8GWI-M0v_6BBx_nA9Cz51mwlxe/s320/NetBeansIDE7Cookbook.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634311850064657746" border="0" /></a>I received it yesterday and the first impression is good, there are many clear images and it seems very easily readable, with nice and untiring fonts - as you can easily verify taking a peek at the <a href="http://www.packtpub.com/sites/default/files/2503OS-Chapter-7-EJB-Application.pdf?utm_source=packtpub&utm_medium=free&utm_campaign=pdf">free chapter on EJB</a> (which only has the little annoyance of being distributed in black and white while my e-book comes in full color). Yet, it's a little bit too early to say something about the content :-)<br /><br />This is the first book on the subject I read since <a href="http://www.amazon.com/NetBeans-IDE-Field-Guide-Applications/dp/0132395525">NetBeans IDE Field Guide</a> was published in far 2006, so a comparison seems due. You may freely skip the rest of my rants and check for updates in about three weeks.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1458940951666589487.post-92211820506765319872011-07-27T02:49:00.011+02:002011-10-08T22:42:24.952+02:00Our submissions for Italian Agile Day 2011After breaking the ice at <a href="http://www.whymca.org/intervento/pattern-un-gioco-mobile-di-successo-il-caso-angry-birds">WhyMCA</a> <a href="http://zmaker.wordpress.com/">Paolo</a> and I decided to submit a talk for the <a href="http://www.agileday.it/front/2011/italian-agile-day-2011/">8th Italian Agile Day</a> which will be held in Rome on november 19, 2011. Then we lost a bit of control of the situation and submitted three :-)<br /><br />Unlike most of the presentations we have seen delivered in the previous editions, mainly about technology and methods, which are the expected core subjects of the conference, we have submitted a proposal for a talk about business aspects.<br /><br />We still don't know whether one or more of our presentations will be accepted; at the moment they're in for the perfection game, in which other submitters and the organizers can give their feedback on the title and the abstract of our talk to help us improve them (or to rule us out).<br /><br />The abstract so far:<br /><br /><h3>Startup without falldown: strategic planning beyond wishful thinking</h3>Creating an app, even if successful, does not mean creating a startup. A startup serves the purpose of discovering and validating a sustainable business model, so the first thing your financial backers ask you is a business plan.<br /><br />The best way to create one is to dice a little (the best dice are the multi-sided ones used in D&D as they add a nice variance to the results) and put the outcomes on an Excel file, possibly coupled with a presentation filled with bullet points, incomprehensible charts and never ending description blended with bad quality images.<br /><br />And then? then you clash with the market.<br /><br />Luckily there are alternative tools: together we'll see how to combine customer development and the business model canvas to analyze the business and to validate the chosen model.<br /><br />Read all about our other proposals on Paolo's <a href="http://zmaker.wordpress.com/2011/07/26/proposte-pazze-per-un-mondo-agile/">blog</a>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1458940951666589487.post-27298226101190616122011-07-20T00:57:00.003+02:002011-07-20T01:16:51.798+02:00A little bit of customer developmentAfter having a great fun at <a href="http://www.whymca.org/intervento/pattern-un-gioco-mobile-di-successo-il-caso-angry-birds">WhyMCA</a>, <a href="http://zmaker.wordpress.com/">Paolo</a> and I are thinking of submitting a proposal for a speech for the <a href="http://www.agileday.it/front/2011/italian-agile-day-2011/">8th Italian Agile Day</a>. Up to now we have two or three ideas, but, eating our own food, we should "get out of the building" and test the market to verify our hypotheses.<br /><br />Up to now, we're interested in a business oriented talk and in prototyping. Maybe <a href="http://nothingnessit.wordpress.com/">Alessandro</a> will join us as well on the latter.<br /><br />More on this will follow, but if there are any subjects you'd like us to speak about please let us know. If once was enough, or even too much, please let us know as well :-)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1458940951666589487.post-44965414837696911172011-07-19T22:44:00.006+02:002011-07-20T01:09:52.594+02:00Italian Agile Day 2011!Even an earlier bird than I was last year, I'm happy to announce that the 8th Italian Agile Day will be held in Rome on November 19, 2011.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH-8RBZ_SusqmO4A3tRIlvmUgETVi6rOFaMgHEqGhvnF4uLLf6zKApp2KNyPBajfP0nrcnhYorT3NV8OUdbsmnB9kZ0_Y8mdaErLFf9Rnsvg8ZkMflXsSGTa4DROoEHshGJ1Io6P69Kglb/s1600/IAD468.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 51px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH-8RBZ_SusqmO4A3tRIlvmUgETVi6rOFaMgHEqGhvnF4uLLf6zKApp2KNyPBajfP0nrcnhYorT3NV8OUdbsmnB9kZ0_Y8mdaErLFf9Rnsvg8ZkMflXsSGTa4DROoEHshGJ1Io6P69Kglb/s400/IAD468.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631169967123150338" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzdAX9emYdQDXdmeTo1kDQ65Zw7NK5MFnAFwTrWm9IM3Sedz6sq5gUHWMP1qtB1rKNL_PwKuwfOU-5snjWaQ4gBUiNNZeBcb-ZmCUr0ECyi8A9aZ7upRD4GiN-pzzzpmW7Ms77ndV1OhFy/s1600/IAD468.gif"><br /></a>It is a one day free conference on Lean Development and Agile methods for developing and managing software project aimed at developers, project leaders, IT managers, testers, architects and coaches with experiences to share or that are just beginning to dip into these themes.<br /><br />Its declared aim is to share practical knowledge, experiences on the field and achieve an active involvement by all the participants.<br /><br />Free access upon registration, limited seats. For the fifth time running, the event will be self-financed.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13289303319829436255noreply@blogger.com0