using a makefile in an eclipse java project

if you have java code and rely on a makefile to compile, you can configure eclipse to build your project using your makefile as follows:

1. create the java project in eclipse
1. open eclipse.
2. click file, new, project...
3. choose java project.
4. type a project name
5. un-check use default location and click browse to find the root of your java project which contains your makefile
6. click finish
2. add make as a builder
1. click on the project in the package explorer.
2. click project, and then click properties.
3. click builders, and then click new.
4. choose program and click ok.
5. in the location textbox, type "/usr/bin/make" (w/o quotes).
1. warning:  if this is not the location of the "make" program on your computer, determine the location by typing "whereis make" in a terminal window.
6. in the working directory section choose browse workspace.
7. choose your project, and click ok.
8. under arguments, type "all", or the appropriate label in your makefile, plus any other arguments you wish to pass to make.

i'd love to hear if this helped you.

visual studio 2010 "copy web site" tool is slow; solution: web site publisher

scenario #1)  you don't mind publishing your source code, and you need to publish you aps.net web site via ftp to your host.   visual studio's built in "copy web site" tool is prohibitively slow because it scans the server for changes, and your website has many folders and files. (your host may even throttle your ftp connections after visual studio scans a few directories.)  analyzing the ftp server is unnecessary because you are the only person who updates your website.  you only want to do a one-way sync to the ftp server without scanning the server.  your hosting company does not support svn.

scenario #2) you use, microsoft expression web, and want to publish only changes to the server.  the problem is that their "publish changed files" option does not propagate deletions.  to propagate deletions in expression web, you must use the "publish all files" function, which is much too slow when the remote copy is accessible over only ftp.

solution: web site publisher, the simplest and most genius program ever.  it took me many hours to find it, which is why i felt the need to share it.  you can configure it to scan only your hard drive for new/changed files and deletions, and then publish the changes since you last published to the ftp server.  my solution won't work for *pre-compiled* asp.net web applications.

download it here:  http://www.cryer.co.uk/downloads/websitepublisher/

you must enable the turbo optimization so that it does not scan the server.  click "config", "optimisations", and then check "turbo".

kindle "show display options" menu is disabled

i am trying out kindle for pc and am reading a textbook.  i found reading to be rather difficult on kindle for pc because of it's jagged scrolling (please complain here).  while looking to add a smooth scrolling option i noticed the view / show display options menu was disabled.

problem: not all books support changing settings like font size and background color.  for example, my textbook has pictures and stuff written in the margins of pages.  if i changed the "words per line" setting, the words would overlap on the pictures or problems would arise from trying to apply features that aren't defined for a textbook.

there is no easy solution.  author's of textbooks need to make books in a e-reading friendly format, which they will have little incentive to do until physical books phase out and e-books really start to catch on.

if you want to know what the dialog box looks like, this is what you're missing out on: