This link: Forums - What are some of the UIManager keys for changing the java look and feel? is also related to Java Swing Look and Feel issues. I'm sure it will be a useful resource in the future. In case this link goes dead though, I'll lift the code example supplied. Full credit for it goes to Alex Burton of http://www.e-plus.com.au

public static void outputUIDefaults() {
// testing only
// Get the currently installed look and feel
UIDefaults uidefs = UIManager.getLookAndFeelDefaults();

// Retrieve the keys. Can't use an iterator since the map
// may be modified during the iteration. So retrieve all at once.
String[] keys = (String[] uidefs.keySet().toArray(new String[0];

for (int i = 0; i < keys.length; i++) {
Object v = uidefs.get(keys);
System.out.println(keys + " " + v.getClass() + ":" + v.toString());
if (v instanceof Integer) {
int intVal = uidefs.getInt(keys);
}
else if (v instanceof Boolean) {
boolean boolVal = uidefs.getBoolean(keys);
}
else if (v instanceof String) {
String strVal = uidefs.getString(keys);
}
else if (v instanceof Dimension) {
Dimension dimVal = uidefs.getDimension(keys);
}
else if (v instanceof Insets) {
Insets insetsVal = uidefs.getInsets(keys);
}
else if (v instanceof Color) {
Color colorVal = uidefs.getColor(keys);
}
else if (v instanceof Font) {
Font fontVal = uidefs.getFont(keys);
}
else if (v instanceof Border) {
Border borderVal = uidefs.getBorder(keys);
}
else if (v instanceof Icon) {
Icon iconVal = uidefs.getIcon(keys);
}
else if (v instanceof javax.swing.text.JTextComponent.KeyBinding[] {
javax.swing.text.JTextComponent.KeyBinding[] keyBindsVal = (
javax.swing.text.JTextComponent.KeyBinding[] uidefs.get(keys);
}
else if (v instanceof InputMap) {
InputMap imapVal = (InputMap) uidefs.get(keys);
}
else {
// Unknown type
}
}
}  ¶ 10:40 AM

  Here is an article on the Wired Site that impressed me today: Wired 11.08: The Super Power IssueBeing Invisible Just imagine what we could do with that. I guess Hollow Man (with Kevin Bacon & Elisabeth Shue) is a possible scenario. Power in the wrong persons hands is just a prelude to tragedy. Just imagine what the criminal element will do with it. I guess it will also be in every persons personal defense technology arsenal. That is if they can afford it.  ¶ 10:50 PM

  This resource is valuable too:
Pluggable look And Feel Reference:   ¶ 4:01 PM

  Here was a link that helped me solve a big problem of how to change the background colour and other properties for a JOptionPane in Swing. Here it is for future reference: Pluggable look And Feel:
The code looked something like:

UIManager.put("OptionPane.background", new javax.swing.plaf.ColorUIResource(cBack));

UIManager.put("Panel.background", new javax.swing.plaf.ColorUIResource(cBack));

UIManager.put("Panel.background", new javax.swing.plaf.FontUIResource(fLabel));

  ¶ 3:48 PM

  Here is a really cool software product: clever cactus! written in Java and JFC aka Swing. It is very similar to MS Outlook and supports Blogging too.  ¶ 8:41 PM

  If you are tracking Linux and you should be, here is a link that will help you keep up with Linux distributions: DistroWatch.
If you want to use MS Office on your Linux machine then checkout: codeweavers.com. They can make it happen.  ¶ 11:43 AM

  This link also came in handy for a review of certain JDBC arcana: JDBC CallableStatement  ¶ 2:19 PM

  This link How SQL Server stores passwords proved to be useful today. So did its brother.  ¶ 10:55 AM

  Wow! here is a useful link with a bonanza of links to yet even more links:
Canadiana -- The Canadian Resource Page
Did I mention that I am an information junkie. Google says that they reference over 3 Billion pages. The only way to see all those web pages in one life time is to build a faster web browser. I'm already working on it. In the mean time Opera is pretty good. Try this math:
3,000,000,000 pages / 5 (average number of pages in a site) * 10 (number of seconds spent viewing first page of a site) / (3600 number of seconds in an hour) = 1666666.6667 hours needed to view all the pages Google references. That's 69444.4444 days. Average Human Life span is 365.25 * 75 = 27393.75 days.
I guess you'd have to drop the site review time to 2.535047023 seconds to see them all; from the day you were born to the day you died with no breaks.
Thanks for reading.  ¶ 3:25 PM

  Dear Reader.
I'm working from home today. Technology is serving me well today. I was actually on my train for the trip to work but decided that I was still too contagious to go to work physically.

I'm still monitoring the 2003 Black Out aftermath via:
CFRB NEWSTALK 1010. They are Canada's premier AM radio station with the largest listening audience.
You can listen live at: http://rd1.surfernetwork.com/Player1.asp?call=cfrb

I'm in contact with my work mates and my boss via email.
I'm really impressed with how well the internet held up despite all the power outages. Maybe it really could survive a nuclear attack.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that my own web site was still up when my power was restored on Aug. 15 at 4:00 AM. I know because of my trusty 10 year old clock radio that I switched on before going to sleep the night of the start of the blackout.
Well, I'd better get back to work.
Thanks for reading.


  ¶ 10:27 AM

  Hello Reader.
My name is Rob Reid. I've been intrigued by computers since 1982. I had 2 Texas Instruments TI 99/4As back then. I even got the Expansion Box so I could put Memory Expansion cards into it. I was one of the few people I knew with a 48K system. I programmed in TI Basic and TI 99/4A assembler. I always wanted to write video games and had started a few projects but life always conspired against me. Video games had an amazing allure for me and they drew me into the computer world. I got one of the first 128K Apple Macintosh's in the summer of '84. I programmed that in C, C++, Forth, Pascal and Assembler. That was a really great year. I got it along with a dot matrix printer for $6000.00. What a bargain! Just imagine the system you could buy for that today. I'd spend it at http://www.alienware.com. I manged to contribute one piece of software to the Mac Community, ClickSaveAs.... I left the Apple world in 1997 when the rest of the personal computer industry had matured to my liking and when Apple's quality control in hardware and software seemed to be at an all time low. I hope to get into the MacOS again soon. I really wanted one of those G4 Cubes. Man they are awesome. They really ought to bring those back.

Today I manage an internet based consultantcy at: http://www.reidtechnologies.ca.

Technology certainly has a lot of potential for improving our lives. But Aug. 14 4:11 PM EST (The 2003 Black Out) shows the vulnerabilities of a modern society.

There isn't much room for error anymore. Technology just has to work. Cities just can't work without it. They say that every person living today could have an acre and a half of land for themselves. You could grow all the food you needed and be completely self sufficient. Life would be a constant management of micro farm tasks though. Cities liberate some of us to pursue technology faster with less time spent providing the necessities of life. We just have to live with the risks. Live in the 'burbs if you can.

Here is a useful link for you:
http://www.alexa.com. This search engine provides useful info about the internet leveraging Google info.
Consider:
http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_sites?ts_mode=global&lang=none
The top 500 most visited sites in the world. There is a lot of useful material for research there to answer the question of "What are people doing with their time on the internet?"
It's also how I found Blogger.com.
Have a good night Dear Reader.  ¶ 11:25 PM