First of all, I've stopped working on CanLaro for quite some time now and I'm not sure if I'll continue working on it anytime soon. There are some other HTML5 libraries and game engines out there such as ImpactJS that works pretty well already. I'll be keeping the repository up on GitHub though, just in case. 

I've also decided to make the switch from WordPress to Posterous. I will not have any control over what features gets added or removed to the blogging engine, but I think I can live with that. These limitations allow me to focus on what's important: the contents and the projects I'm working on.

Finally, I'll be starting a dev diary for my projects. I'm writing it mostly for myself, but you're welcome to read it. I'll still be posting some dev work here on my main blog, but I'll be restricting it to about major or minor releases and other reladed stuff I'd like to share.

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While looking around for some HTML5 Canvas code, I found a lot of examples, but only a handful of reusable libraries. The drawing functions, are useful and there are draw image functions that draw a part of an image, useful for a sprite. Nice but it can get troublesome with tiled animation and transformations. In the end, I decided to make one myself: CanLaro!

Can: short for canvas, also "to be able to"
Laro:  Tagalog word for game

My goal for this library is mainly to provide code that can help any 2D game get started as long as you know some Javascript and know what a game loop is. I wrote/am writing this mainly as a helper and you are free to write your game as you please.

Here it is in action: CanLaro Demo: BobCanvas. 

At the moment, here's what it offers:

• Sprite
  • multiple animations (different sets of frames per animation)
  • transformation (rotation, translation, scale)
  • alpha
• Keyboard Input Handler
  • configurable key mapping
  • key state checking (of course!)
  • opposing keys

Check the README at the CanLaro github project repository for more details and updated documentation.

Planned possible updates:

• Resource Manager/Loader (there's code in there, but it still needs some work)
• Sprite Manager
• Audio Manager
• ...

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"Community commands (those hosted on individual servers, locally, or on the herd), however, cannot be localized at this time." (via: Labs/Ubiquity/Ubiquity 0.5 Making Commands Localizable - 09.07.10)

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In one of my projects, I had to look for certain objects using certain qualifiers: ID, Name, ID & Name, etc… Without optional parameters (Hello C# 4.0!), I ended up with copying & pasting whole blocks of code: initializing, filtering, returning the result, error handling, etc. I wondered if there was an easier solution to that and then it hit me! LINQ & delegates!

Let’s start with a simple class:

public class Employee
{
    public string FirstName { get; protected set; }
    public string LastName { get; protected set; }
    public int Id { get; protected set; }
    //...and other methods...
}

Then, we have a List of Employees:

List<Employee> Employees = new List<Employee>()
    {
        new Employee("Juan", "dela Cruz", 1),
        new Employee("John", "Doe", 2),
        //and so on...
    };

Now let’s try making some convenience methods for retrieving a collection of filtered Employees.

public IEnumerable<Employee> GetByLastName(string last)
{
    IEnumerable<Employee> result = 
        Employees.Where(emp => emp.LastName == last);
    return result;
}

public IEnumerable<Employee> GetById(int id)
{
    IEnumerable<Employee> result =
        Employees.Where(emp => emp.Id == id);
    return result;
}

Quick & easy, yes? Now what if instead of a List, our collection of Employees isn’t that stable. We’d need to put each of them in try-catch blocks and add error handling. This can quickly become high-maintenance code.

Enter LINQ and delegates!

We then basically need one method that will contain all the error handling, initialization and whatnot. We just pass a delegate will filter the collection:

public IEnumerable<Employee> GetEmployee(Func<Employee, bool> query)
{
    try
    {
        //initialization
        IEnumerable<Employee> result = Employees.Where(query);
        return result;
    }
        //handling other exceptions...
    catch (Exception ex)
    {
        //Error handling
        return null;
    }
}

Did you notice: Func<Employee, bool>? All we need is to pass an expression that uses the Employee as input and returns a boolean (true if it passes the condition or false if not).

What does this mean? Well, we can now replace the convenience methods we wrote earlier with this:

public IEnumerable<Employee> GetByFirstName(string first)
{
    Func<Employee, bool> query = emp => emp.FirstName == first;
    return GetEmployee(query);
}

public IEnumerable<Employee> GetById(int id)
{
    Func<Employee, bool> query = emp => emp.Id == id;
    return GetEmployee(query);
}

We’re back to code that’s easy to maintain with all the initializations, error handling and other code blocks that you need.

You could even do away with the convenience methods and use lambda expressions all the way!

GetEmployee(emp => true); //get everything
GetEmployee(emp => emp.LastName.Contains("Locs"));
GetEmployee(emp => emp.FirstName == "Richard"
    && emp.LastName == "Locsin");

Have fun!

Related resources:

• LINQ
• Lambda Expressions

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Just something I said a while ago to Oyen on drawing...something I have to keep in mind myself.

Don't censor what you think. Don't throw away any ideas, just sort and archive. No matter how bad you think you draw, just do it. Pick up styles that you like and try to copy them. Explore other styles & copy them again. Along the way, you'll keep a certain style that's uniquely you.

I should really be carrying my Moleskine notebook and a few pens around...

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Braid is finally out on the PC. Jonathan Blow is working on some bugs. AAAAND there's the official release of the Braid Soundtrack, and a Level Editor!

Soundtrack

The Braid Soundtrack is available on Magnatune with two remixes of songs from the game (Maenam and Undercurrent by Jami Sieber, Jon Schatz remix)! The soundtrack itself is amazing. You can stream the music and listen if you don't believe me.

Level Editor

To get the level editor on Braid, add a "-editor" argument when running the game and press F11. The interface might be a little confusing but fortunately, documentation will be released soon:

Yeah, after I get a new version out in a few days that fixes the problems some people are having, and when more people have played/finished the game, I am going to post some documentation for the editor. The way it works is you can make levels with the editor (up to a full game, potentially) and run that with -universe later... also a tool will be released that lets you take Photoshop files and import them into the game, if you want to put new graphics in your levels.

-Jonathan Blow, Steam Forums

Now that the "what if" there was a level editor has been fulfilled, we can expect user-created "what ifs" in the coming months, weeks, ...or even days? I'm excited :D

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• Right-click the taskbar, choose Toolbars / New Toolbar
• In the folder selection dialog, enter the following string and hit OK: %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
• Turn off the “lock the taskbar” setting, and right-click on the divider. Make sure that “Show text” and “Show title” are disabled and the view is set to “small icons”.
• Use the dividers to rearrange the toolbar ordering to choice, and then lock the taskbar again.

The beta is feature complete; although there are "a couple of things that we're holding back", according to general manager Mike Ybarra. ... "all of the code is in the build, just the discoverability is not." ...

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• Installation & setup was easier & faster than XP. Installation + setup (including reformatting one of my partitions) took a little less than 30 minutes. This is about the same time Vista would take, if not less. Compared to XP though, this is way faster!
• Just like in Vista, it recognized that XP was also installed so dual booting XP & Windows 7 was a breeze.
• My NVidia 8800 GTs on SLI were detected and the drivers were automatically installed via Windows Update. The drivers were pre-release ones, too. Nice! (Oh yeah, Windows 7 uses DX11!)
• Networking seems much easier for non-power users. "HomeGroup" seems much friendlier and faster to setup. (At least in theory, I couldn't test it myself...)
• There are Control Panel Items for Biometric Devices, Tablet PC Settings, Pen and Touch, Location and Other Sensors, among others. This seems like a promising OS for alternative input devices & sensors.
• User Account Control is less intrusive than Vista by default, but users can make it even more or even less intrusive by choosing when to be notified. Oh thank you!

• The new taskbar is nice but I kind of prefer the old one, with the Quick Launch toolbar. Well, the new taskbar is more functional though so maybe after some time I'd love it more.
• Not only can programs be pinned to the taskbar, folders can be pinned there as well!
• The taskbar takes some time getting used to. It's difficult to check at a glance what are running or open and what have just been pinned. - Well, you can opt to not pin anything at all to the taskbar but I find it too convenient to not use it! Hahahaha!
• By default, the taskbar items are not labeled. If you want text labels on the items on the taskbar, you'd have to select an option that doesn't combine program groups. (looks very much like that in previous versions of Windows)
• It's great that you can opt to use small icons if you find them too big.
• Can go directly to a certain tab from different IE windows using the taskbar. As expected, this shaves off time spent switching between tabs & windows! ...doesn't work with Firefox (yet?) though...

• What it is: Drag a window and wiggle it around, literally shaking it, to minimize all windows except the one you're shaking
• Aero Shake is nice but is more of a hassle for mouse-users.
• On the other hand, this seems fun for pen/touch input.

• No more side bar for Gadgets: Hover the mouse to the lower right part of the screen to hide all open Windows, revealing the Gadgets on your desktop.
• At first, I didn't see the use of hovering the mouse to the lower right to reveal the desktop.  With no sidebar, I find the idea a logical one. Not only does it free up some screen/desktop estate, but it keeps you focused on your current window.
• There's a Sticky Notes app (no longer a Gadget) but since it's an app, it occupies space in the taskbar. It would be nice to have the app run in the background (and show up only in the notifications area) but then maybe the normal behavior is to pin it to the taskbar for easy access...)

• Paint uses the ribbon like in Office apps + other features like brushes.
• PNG is the default file format for images instead of BMP (XP) or JPG (Vista)!
• WordPad has undergone the same update, making it work more closely like Word.
• Paint + WordPad interoperability!
• The calculator has different modes, with conversions.
• I love the Snipping Tool! It's what I used to capture the screenshots here (I used either this or Paint). There's also a Free-Form Snip where you can draw your own capture region.

• Searching for terms in a page is a cross between searching on Firefox and on Google Chrome. The bar appears to be integrated into the top part of the browser (not a separate window), containing "Previous", "Next", "Highlight All Matches" and case sensitivity options. Good move, as I hated the in-page search of IE7.
• There's an InPrivate mode, hiding your browsing history. This seems to be like the Incognito mode in Google Chrome, where the security/protection level is raised.
• I love the automatically colored tabs! Colors are automatically set when you opt to open a link in a new tab, for a more organized browsing experience!
• IE8 download progress within the taskbar! (I first thought it was a visual bug though :P)
• IE accelerators: "Using Accelerators to find addresses, define words, and do other tasks with selected text". This reminds me of Ubiquity on Firefox and is very much welcome!
• Styles are a bit messed up. Ex. Thumbnails on Plurk look weird, some rounded corners don't render correctly.
• BUT, there's a compatibility view option. Sometimes, this fixes it. Other times, it doesn't since the way IE8 Compatibility view renders pages is NOT the same as the how IE7 does it. I don't know why not but maybe Compatibility View should render pages like they do in IE7.

• Interface is much like the Zune.
• It does not recognize the Zune as a device that can be synced to/with. :(
• Buttons and text is huge, making it easier for alternate input methods like touch.

• My HP Deskjet 1180c is not supported under Vista, and so it's not supported by Windows 7 (hopefully, only for now).
• I wonder if third-party developers would be given the option to take advantage of the new taskbar features such as the "Jump Lists". (Application-sensitive right click that allows you to "jump" to certain tasks. For example, the IE8 Jump List allows you to go to a recently visited page.)
• Why isn't Windows Live isn't included in the ISO? It took me a long time to download the whole Windows Live Package (includes WL Call, WL Family Safety, WL Mail, WL Messenger, WL Movie Maker Beta, WL Photo Gallery, WL Writer).
• IE8 is potentially another web designer headache waiting to happen. (IE8 seems to be two browsers in one: normal view & compatibility view...even three if you count the IE7 browser mode in the Developer Tools of IE8) ...at least, the Developer Tools are there to hopefully make this less of a headache...

• Features new to Windows 7 on Wikipedia
• Windows 7 Team Blog

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• Robust, fully integrated and automated account system. No need to wait or worry, you can create and log in to your account to play right away!
• High-grade account security. Your account is protected by a 512-bit (or higher) encryption key generated on registration.
• Authentication server down, but you've already created an account? No problem! Just log in and play.
• No waiting for a human to create your account; no need to alt-tab to fully use the game; no need to worry about account theft.
• No need for a CD-Key! The game is completely free to download and play, so go ahead!

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I just bumped into a clever little code snippet used to find the inverse square root:

float InvSqrt(float x) {
    float xhalf = 0.5f * x;
    int i = *(int*)&x;   // store floating-point bits in integer
    i = 0x5f3759d5 - (i >> 1);  // initial guess for Newton's method
    x = *(float*)&i;  // convert new bits into float
    x = x*(1.5f - xhalf*x*x);  // One round of Newton's method
    return x;
}

[ taken with comments from Kalid Azad @ BetterExpalined.com: Understanding Quake’s Fast Inverse Square Root. ]

Ok, it does not get the exact value but you get a good enough estimate, FAST!

There are two important things to note here:

• Newton’s method (also known as the Newton-Raphson method)
• The ‘magic number’: 0x5f3759d5, an optimized first guess

For a better explanation, I suggest reading Kalid Azad’s article and the paper by Charles McEniry.

Wait a minute, so why is this useful?

In graphics programming, this can be used to normalize vectors quickly. If you noticed the title on the first link, it’s used in the Quake 3 engine. So does that mean the legendary John Carmack wrote this code? If you’re interested, you can read the Origin of Quake3’s Fast InvSqrt() at Beyond3D.

What did I learn?

I usually forget one thing: there are times when speed trumps accuracy. A close quick estimate would be better and there are a number of optimations that can be made. Much thanks goes to Doc Mana who first introduced me to the Newton-Raphson method & how to apply it on code. 

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"In quantum physics, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle states that the values of certain pairs of conjugate variables (position and momentum, for instance) cannot both be known with arbitrary precision. That is, the more precisely one variable is known, the less precisely the other is known. This is not a statement about the limitations of a researcher's ability to measure particular quantities of a system, but rather about the nature of the system itself."

"Schrödinger's Cat: A cat, along with a flask containing a poison, is placed in a sealed box shielded against environmentally induced quantum decoherence. If a Geiger counter detects radiation then the flask is shattered, releasing the poison which kills the cat. Quantum mechanics suggests that after a while the cat is simultaneously alive and dead. Yet, when we look in the box, we see the cat either alive or dead, not a mixture of alive and dead."

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Number 7 Life is sexually transmitted. Number 6 Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die. Number 5 Men have two emotions: Hungry and Horny. If you see him without an erection, make him a sandwich. Number 4 Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach a person to use the Internet and they won’t bother you for weeks. Number 3 Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing. Number 2 All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism. Number 1 In the ’60’s, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

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I had to make one myself. I just had to. I just started last Friday and it didn't take long to get it going with XNA. I just wanted it to behave similar to Tetris DS + other rules I picked up from Heboris, and that took some time... (plus, I wanted to watch Madagascar 2 & Quantum of Solace, too, and did. :D). If you want the game, it's here: Quadrox v. 1.1. Quadrox v. 1.1.1.

Installation:

• Unzip Quadrox_v1.1.zip into a temporary folder (doesn't really matter where, as long as you remember where it is).
• Open that folder and run "setup.exe" and continue with the installation.
• If you don't have the prerequisites ( .NET & XNA frameworks, the setup will download them)
• When it's done, it will automatically run the game in windowed mode.
• I'm not sure but I think the temporary folder can be deleted at this point...

Uninstallation:

• It can be found in the Add/Remove programs in XP and in Vista's counterpart (not sure what it is, sorry).

Just a summary on the project:

Motivations

• Something to play while waiting for a download job. (Does not require an internet connection & can just pick up and play)
• Tetris with my desired ruleset (at least attempt to get it)
• Simple UI that does not distract you from the game
• Practice C# and using XNA :P
• Non-intrusive app
• Lightweight (well it is, except for the need for the .NET & XNA frameworks... )

Features

• Can select starting level: 1-30
• Can spin the current block while it hasn't been locked.
• Can hold blocks
• Always in "Endless mode" - You don't stop after reaching level N.
• Shows you your next 7 blocks = more strategy, less luck.
• Can run in windowed or full screen mode
• "Secret" INVISIBLE MODE - toggled at the Game Over screen (F9). Well, not a secret anymore...

Known Bugs:

• Rotation when trying to slip in some bricks does not behave as intended. (Thus some S/Z/T-Spins might not be possible)
• Starting position of some blocks may seem lower or higher than others.

Future of the Project:

• Add pre-spinning blocks before the blocks spawn on top.
• Add ability to pause the game - hahahaha!
• [Change UI]
• [Might add some sounds]

If you find any bugs, have comments/suggestions, please leave a comment or contact me using the Contact link. Thanks.

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• You can import bookmarks, passwords, etc. from your current browser
• It's noticably faster
• Cleaner = More page real estate! (It may take some time for me to get used to this...)
• Text in the address bar is more readable (it's bigger!)
• Firefox shortcuts work! (Alt+D/Ctrl+L, Ctrl+J, Ctrl+H, etc..)
• Autocomplete isn't intrusive and it really works
• Draggable tabs (moving them like FF...and OUTSIDE to put them in their own window!)
• Speaking of tabs, you can also drag your Firefox tab to Google Chrome! 
• There's Incognito mode (or "porn mode" if you're the type)
• The new tab page is unexpectedly useful
• Did I mention it's really fast? Wooo~! JavaScript!
• When right-clicking on a link, "Open link in new tab" is the first option instead of "new window." It also loads NEXT to your current tab, not at the end like in Firefox
• If one page causes a crash, the other tabs are unaffected. Finally!
• Downloads window is now a Downloads tab. Less intrusive = better
• When searching for terms, results outside the visible area is shown in the scroll bar! Neato!

• No spell check Whoops! I think it's just wordpress...Or maybe it's new? Ooh! they updated it!
• No real-time search in the History tab
• No user profiles
• No "master password" to protect all your saved passwords
• Plugins/Extensions are (currently) missing. (If you're extension-depended, stick to your current browser...for now at least)
• The feed button is nowhere to be seen (tell me if you find it)

12. Software updates 12.1 The Software which you use may automatically download and install updates from time to time from Google. These updates are designed to improve, enhance and further develop the Services and may take the form of bug fixes, enhanced functions, new software modules and completely new versions. You agree to receive such updates (and permit Google to deliver these to you) as part of your use of the Services.

17. Advertisements 17.1 Some of the Services are supported by advertising revenue and may display advertisements and promotions. These advertisements may be targeted to the content of information stored on the Services, queries made through the Services or other information. 17.2 The manner, mode and extent of advertising by Google on the Services are subject to change without specific notice to you. 17.3 In consideration for Google granting you access to and use of the Services, you agree that Google may place such advertising on the Services.

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info["Errors"] = context.AllErrors == null ?
    "" :    string.Join( "<br/><br/>",
        (from error in context.AllErrors
        select String.Format( "{0}<br/>{1}",
            error.Source, error.Message))
       .ToArray<string>());

Posted by email from goofydelinquent's posterous

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Ubiquity is an experimental Firefox extension that gives you a powerful new way to interact with the Web. You're used to telling Firefox where you want to go by typing Web addresses into the URL bar. With Ubiquity installed, you'll be able to tell Firefox what you want it to do by typing commands into a new Ubiquity input box.

(Source: Ubiquity 0.1 User Tutorial)

(Source:Ubiquity for Firefox from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.) Neat stuff. I, myself, am so excited that I can't help but try messing with Ubiquity. The result: A Ubiquity command for Ping.fm. Ping.fm: Updating social networks in a snap With a lot of social sites around (like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Plurk, Livejournal, Yahoo! 360, Delicious, etc.), I can't help but be a member of a number of them. What usually happens is that some of my friends on one network is not a member of another. To update everything would be a pain and so there's Ping.fm!

Ping.fm was created for the sole purpose of making it as easy as possible to share your posts with the world. Now you don't have to fumble around the web in order to post anymore, you can just post once, and be done with it.

(Source: Ping.fm/About)

• Ubiquity in Depth by Aza Raskin
• Ubiquity User Tutorial
• Ubiquity Author Tutorial

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• iPhone completely blocks free software. Developers must pay a tax to Apple, who becomes the sole authority over what can and can't be on everyone's phones.
• iPhone endorses and supports Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) technology.
• iPhone exposes your whereabouts and provides ways for others to track you without your knowledge.
• iPhone won't play patent- and DRM-free formats like Ogg Vorbis and Theora.
• iPhone is not the only option. There are better alternatives on the horizon that respect your freedom, don't spy on you, play free media formats, and let you use free software -- like the FreeRunner.

1. After using the Microsoft's OS's for over 10 years, I don't find Mac's OS user-friendly. It looks cool but function should take priority over form.
2. It's overpriced. Want proof? Here's a comparison of the Dell Inspiron 1720 and a MacBook Pro 17-inch:

While it's true that there are advantages to an apple computer in software and hardware and tech support and whatnot, it's insufficient to justify a nearly $2k price difference. What it comes down to is paying for style over substance, and anyone who says differently is lying or stupid.

Ok, what I do own is an 4th generation 20 GB iPod. I'm quite satisfied with it, despite the fact that I had to get it fixed last year when I got this error (cute icon though), and a year before that. But that's just it! I've become used to it and had been drowned by the hype that I didn't bother with complications Apple didn't mention.

• I have to use iTunes to import songs into my iPod and to listen to them while it's connected to my computer. Thankfully, there are quite a number of hacks out there so that I don't have to use this memory hog. Aside from that, there are Linux apps (with much resistance from Apple) that can read the iPod's weird file storage system that brings me to point #2.
• I cannot export the songs I have on my iPod, even if I got the files from that computer in the first place. Let's say I have my music library in my iPod & hard drive. For some reason, my hard drive got corrupted so my whole music library is lost. I cannot intuitively transfer the songs in my iPod back to my computer. I need to download more hacks to be able to that. I try copy the contents of my iPod as is, but it's not human readable.

If we give more "value" to such terms, we might end up in a grim world for consumers. Finally, just to end on a lighter side:

(images from: reddit: The problem with Apple, Apple iMac vs Dell XPS 410)

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• Animal Crossing:City Folk on the Wii!
• WiiSpeak = The voice chat everybody wanted but not exactly what they asked for (A "room-wide" mic? I don't know how this will work in noisy room-mates...)
• MotionPlus: True 1:1 motion recognition (also something new for those who hack the Wii to mess with :D)

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Closing out the Microsoft press conference was an announcement by Square Enix President Yoichi Wada. After commenting on his company's growing relationship with Microsoft, one of the biggest announcements of the show was made. The next game in the company's blockbuster mega-franchise, Final Fantasy XIII, will be coming to the Xbox 360 as part of a simultaneous release in North America and Europe.

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First 4 Figures is extremely proud to present the ultimate version of the Samus Aran's Phazon Suit. ...has used the official game files in order to create an extremely accurate recreation of the Phazon suit, with pose inspiration taken from official Metroid artwork. We completely reengineered the original Varia suit model to make the Phazon suit by casting it entirely in transparent resin, adding over 25 LED lights through the suit and finished it off by adding a mirror base which really shows off the lights. When the lights are turned off, an internal IC chip allows for the lights to fade out slowly. ... The Phazon Suit is highly limited at just 1500 pieces worldwide. Height: 11.5 inches across base SRP: Price: $224.99 Available: Q1-2009

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