Windows XP Zune Theme

First, I have to say that I'm not a fan of the the default XP themes. The bright green and blue toy-like look of the theme called Luna an its two other variations. In fact, ever since I started using XP back when its was still code-named Whistler I have always used the Windows classic style.

A few weeks ago I finally decided it was time for a change. Thus, while searching for new themes for my XP machine I discovered that Microsoft created two really cool looking themes for XP. Yet, no one seems to know about them. The themes in question are named Royale Noir (never officially released) and Zune.

So what do I think after installing the Zune theme? I'm really impressed so far and it almost feels like I just got a new OS. Gone are the lame bright colors and now are replaced by a sophisticated black look. Also, there is no hit in performance which is really good news.

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If you are tired of the default XP look and you are planning to avoid Vista download the Zune Theme here.

The few, the proud, the Engineers.

A blog in Wired has generated a surprisingly amount of discussion on the internet in the past few days about engineering. A post in Slashdot has over 900 posts about it and with a very good range of information on why engineering deserves more respect than it currently receives.

As an engineering student I have a few thoughts of my own. One thing is for certain: engineering is hard, challenging and demands a lot of dedication. For example, just in the past week I spent about 5 days in a project, in which I spent about 30 hours solid working on it. Sometimes I feel as if to get an A in an engineering class you have to work 6 times as hard as many other Liberal arts, and business majors, etc. Even worse, to get a C you still have to work harder than said majors. That is not to say those degrees don't matter, but the reality is that there is a big difference in the amount of work an engineering student is expected to do.

However, as hard as it gets, the many late nights studying, the all-nighters, the frustrations and the headaches, Engineering *#$%ing ROCKS! No other field lets you take math and physics to create amazing stuff. And to all the engineering students: hang in there. We are going to make it through no matter if it takes us 6 years!

Microsoft contributing to Eclipse

It has been announced that Microsoft will collaborate with the Eclipse foundation to make it easier for Java developers to create native Windows applications.

Microsoft will begin collaborating with the Eclipse Foundation to improve native Windows application development on Java.

Sam Ramji, the director of Microsoft's open-source software lab, announced at the EclipseCon conference in Santa Clara, Calif., on Wednesday that the lab will work with Eclipse .

A little history. No other programming language offers so many free high-quality IDEs than Java. There are so many good choices that its not only hard to decide which one to install and use, but which one to keep using in the long run. The two most well known IDEs are Eclipse and Netbeans and with every new release, features only get better as the two try to outdo one another.

Although each tool is available as open source software, Sun Microsystems takes care of Netbeans and Eclipse is an IBM project. As with all IDEs both can do all the basic functionality such as code coloring, auto completion, etc., but Netbeans tends to be known for its great visual editor and Eclipse for its excellent code editor and refactoring capabilities.

Eclipse and Netbeans possess loyal followings of users that often engage in heated discussions across the internet defending their respective camps. Another key player in the java IDE arena is IntelliJ IDEA, which is not free but it is known for its excellent set of productivity features. Many of which have been incorporated in Netbeans and Eclipse.

Personally, I have always preferred Eclipse because it has a much bigger ecosystem. Namely, many other companies support and make it the foundation for their products. For example Borland and IBM. It also enjoys a large amount of plug-ins written for it.

Now with the announcement that Microsoft is planning to support Eclipse there is one more reason to stick with Eclipse for the time being. However, this makes me wonder if the cross-platform strength of Java will be affected by having better Windows support with the Eclipse platform.

Microsoft to work with Eclipse - CNet Blog

Free knowledge

If I ever go to graduate school MIT is at the top of the list. It is a top engineering school and the institution is dedicated to sharing knowledge with every person in the world. In particular, MIT is known as being one of the first higher-education institutions to make many of its past courses available online for free. And after having checked a few of the courses I have to say that everyone with free time should check this great endeavor.

The course materials include a syllabus, lecture notes, reading material, assignments. Some of the classes even include video lectures. In case you decide to give it a try I personally recommend the physics, electronics and computer science material.

Indeed, this kind of information can benefit students at other institutions by providing another perspective into the topics they are learning. However, anyone with a little aptitude and dedication, and thanks to schools like MIT, can learn some incredibly cool stuff.