Let's make this short & sweet. The perfect softphone would be free and would integrate into a piece of software that I already use as a plug-in. It would show up as a set of options, or as another tab, or as a separate small window, but it would not require the installation and execution of a completely separate program.

At the moment, we're using X-Lite. It's a gateway drug, as it were -- a free application that provides users with the "most popular" features of eyeBeam and Bria, CounterPath's paid products. It's a separate, standalone program.

The problem is that this is an additional program to support. Additional programs require additional how-to guides, additional application knowledge, additional licenses, and so on. if the softphone component is integrated into an already-familiar application, that's one less thing to worry about. For example, everyone in the office knows how to use Skype for voice and IM. Why not have a separate tab in the Skype interface that allows the user to place and receive alls via our own Trixbox?

Cupcakes, Donuts, Eclairs ... yes, it's another Android post! I'm diggin' my phone, that's for sure. It shipped with Cupcake and now has Donut, but I can't wait for Eclair to come out. The one Eclair feature I'm looking forward to is the Exchange support, because ActiveSync on Donut leaves much to be desired.

I don't know if I'm patient enough to wait for T-Mobile to release their MyTouch Eclair update, but Cyanogen is still based on Donut. That may leave loading a generic Eclair ROM ... which may not necessarily work well.

In other news, I signed up for Twitter. No surprises on the username I chose ... trying to figure out the point.

I think the subject line says it all :-)

Real life coding is nothing like school coding. While the actual process of coding is the same (there really aren't too many different ways to type), the interactions are different. In school, you are pretty much forced to code solo. In real life, you need to work with others or face epic failure.

In real life, we generally don't deal with code that is completely our own. Often, the code is not particularly well documented; this is where education kicks in. Common sense is also required, as uncommented code cannot remain that way.

Now, with that said, it's still fun to do. Can be a little frustrating if the creator of the code did things in a not-so-straightforward manner, but still fun and quite satisfying when it works.

Why am I posting about coding? There's going to be a bit of it this year. Maybe not on this site, because color scheme changes don't need code updates, but for other sites I've been working on. I really want to nail down a new design for Images on Ice, for example.

Anyway, I'm rambling now.

Indeed, Merry Christmas to everyone!

To me, it didn't feel like Christmas this year (just like it didn't feel like Thanksgiving a month ago). My family has always celebrated Christmas on the 24th and there were lots of people (including Julie, due to work) missing from that celebration. It felt like the holiday snuck up on us this year. We were also kind of rushed yesterday because Julie works today and tomorrow, so we had to get home at a decent time so she could wake up early enough to get to work. Snowplows haven't been out yet, and it's 8:45.

With all that said ... I really didn't tell anyone I wanted anything this year. No hint dropping, no lists ... really the only thing I wanted was a set of four 2TB hard disks, but that wasn't necessarily for Christmas I did get New Super Mario Bros. Wii, a Nerf N-Strike Rapid Fire AS-20, some cash, and assorted gift cards. I gave Julie a SingStand iPod karaoke mic, some shiba inu gear (T-shirts and such), and comfy pajamas.

2010 is less than a week away now. On the one hand I'm wondering where 2009 went ... but on the other I'm glad it's over because it was a stressful year. Granted, there are others among my friends and family who have had more stressful years, but I'm sure they're also happy to see 2009 go. In less than a week there will be a clean slate ... still doesn't feel like it, though.