I’ve been meaning to play around with couchDB lately, and finally took the time to get it installed on my Linux VM at home running Ubuntu Server 7.10. I ran into a few problems while getting the thing to compile, so I figured I’d outline them here.

First, look at the instructions in the INSTALL file, or at the wiki. They’ll give you a good starting point — especially for all the development tools you’ll need to begin compiling things (automake, libtool, etc. — Ubuntu doesn’t install these by default). If you’re running a headless machine (like my VM) without X, however, you won’t want to install the erlang meta-package, as this will install a bunch of X related crap. And you can’t just install erlang-base, since this won’t give you everything you need, as evidenced by a failing make (trust me).

Now, before you go and search the Internet and decide that you should compile erlang from source — hardly an attractive option — keep reading. The silver bullet is that you need the erlang-nox package (that’s “no X”, not some form of nitrous oxide). The description is very vague, but it’s apparently a bunch of erlang stuff that doesn’t require X11. I also installed erlang-dev, since the description made it sound important (i.e., I’m not sure if it’s required).

Hopefully this helps somebody else.

Speaking of enhancing the Windows Mobile UI, today I found FlowFX, a .NET Compact Framework library for creating multi-form Windows Mobile applications with some neat effects. It’s also any entry for OpenNETCF’s September coding competition to create user interfaces that, “[make] the user completely forget they’re using a Windows Mobile device.”

Hopefully there are some more entries!

With the recent iPhone price reductions, it’s been hard to resist throwing away my slightly irritating Windows Mobile-based T-Mobile Dash in favor of a shiny new iPhone. And Apple’s new smartphone has lots to love– like a lovely interface, BSD subsystem, x86 architecture, and hordes of developers writing nifty applications.

Thou shalt not covet: not as easy as you might think. But in spite of all the compelling reasons to break my piggy bank, I’ve decided to stand firm and be content with what I have. Well, content might be pushing it: I’ve also decided that Apple fan-boys shouldn’t be the only ones to get pretty screen-shots and devoted myself to changing it. Or some of it, at least — I can’t help with the hand models.

My first victim is the home screen for Windows Mobile, since that’s my primary interaction point with my phone. The default home screens are — well, let’s call them professional. (That’s a nice way of saying bland.) Luckily, the home screens are simply XML and graphics; easy to change.

Without further ado, here are screen shots of the original home-screen and my first stab at creating a prettier one. I still have some work to do, but I’m pleased with how it’s coming along.

(Screen-shots taken with Smart SS.)

Tomorrow I’ll hopefully be obtaining a copy of Visual Studio .NET, so I’ll be able to start making software modifications as well. And then I’ve started on some browser-based applications. Time to change the world!

Back in May I had the opportunity to attend the php|tek ’07 conference that was put on by php|architect magazine. They included a complimentary Zend Certification Exam, which, of course, I took advantage of. I found out the other day (only about a month later!) that I’d passed. I guess I’m now official.

Before taking the test I was required to sign a bulletproof non-disclosure agreement and swear on a stack of Bibles that I wouldn’t divulge any of the contents, so I won’t say much. However, being a self-developed developer from the very beginning, I always knew that a piece of paper with a shiny seal wouldn’t change a single thing: I was either a good developer, or I wasn’t, certified or not. Taking the test only served to make me more aware of that.

So while I’m sure it’ll look pretty on my resume, I’m just not that excited.