BSA Eagle Tracker v1.0 is Released

Well, I am very happy to announce that version 1.0 of my pet project for the summer, BSA Eagle Tracker, has been released for your use on the Windows Phone Marketplace. It's taken all summer, but I finally got the first (public) version out there. A big thanks to my friend, Del Rio, for making the splash screen for this app.

Just to give you a basic overview of the program: BSA Eagle Tracker is a program that allows a boy scout to track his progress towards Eagle Scout. The program is meant to be an unofficial means to track requirements done for the various ranks. The official scout handbook is still the official way to record that a requirement was done, but this gives boys a way to track their progress so they can "pocket" it and take it anywhere. The program was designed for offline use and to be totally independent of the Internet, so boys can use it "in the field" where they might not have the scout handbook with them. All of the requirements contained in the scout handbook for each rank are found in this app.

When the program first launches, you are taken to a configuration page where you are asked for your name, your birthday, and your religion. The name is used for the home screen. The birthday is used to determine how much time you have left until your 18th birthday (shown on the home screen), which is the hard deadline for which all requirements for eagle scout (except for the eagle scout board of review) must be done before. The religion choices are generic for now, but they will be more specific later. The choice for religion is used to filter through the religion awards, so that you only see the religious award that applies to me (the awards feature will be added in the next major version, more on that is located towards the end of this article). After you have set the configuration (and pressed the "ok" button), you are taken to the home screen. When you launch the program any other time, you are taken directly to the home screen. If you're wondering what the "reset" button on the home screen does, it completely erases the settings and finished requirements (I originally put it there for testing purposes, but it can also be used for if the scout has reached the deadline or has "quit" and another scout can start using the program). Please do not press the reset button unless you really mean it (I don't provide an "are you sure, yes/no" warning beforehand).

 As this is the first version, there is more that I would like to include in it in the future. I hope to include the WHOLE boy scout merit badge requirements book in there, so boys won't have to purchase the merit badge requirements book year after year just to stay current (any yearly changes to the merit badge requirements will be included in program updates). I also want to add the awards, including the religious awards. The choice of religion you made on the configuration page will be used to filter through the religious awards to show only the awards that apply to you. For example, I am Roman Catholic, so I would only see the Roman Catholic award, Ad Altare Dei, and perhaps maybe the Eastern Catholic award as well. On the configure page, you can leave religion blank if you wish, but if you navigate to the religious awards, I will ask again for you to choose a religion. If you do not choose one there, you will see nothing in the religious awards, and I will ask again for you to choose a religion each time as long as the religion choice is blank.

As I said before, it is now available in the Windows Phone Marketplace. You can (currently) find it under the "Kids + Family" section, but I plan to move it to the "Lifestyle" section under the "Community" sub-section. The cost is only a mere 99¢, and I am sure that you will find great use for my program. If you like my program please give me a good and positive review in the marketplace so others will be more likely to use it. If you find any problems (or bugs) with the app, please contact me via e-mail as soon as possible so I can get a fix out as fast as possible. The e-mail address you can reach me at is catholictechgeek@gmail.com. You can also use the comment box below to let me know of any problems (or bugs) with the app. As this is for Boy Scouts of America, this program is only available for the United States market and Canada market (I left out Mexico by mistake, will be fixed in the future).

If you know of any ways that I can improve the program, please be honest and tell me so I can incorporate the suggestion into the next program version. This can be done via the comment box below or via the e-mail address given above. For those of you with devices running Android or iOS, I will be making ports for you once the Windows Phone version is a little more accomplished (Android first, and then iOS due to me not owning a Macintosh computer).

So what thoughts or questions do you have about my app? Which category in the Windows Phone Marketplace do you think a boy scout app like this is most appropriate in?  If you've tried my app, do you like it? Please make your thoughts and questions known via the comment box below or via e-mail (e-mail address is catholictechgeek@gmail.com). You can also follow me on twitter (username is @rctechgeek).


Edit: The url for download is BSA Eagle Tracker on Windows Phone Marketpalace

Here is a picture of the splash screen:

What happened to the Leonine Prayers?

What ever happened to the reciting of the Leonine Prayers after Mass?

To give you some background on the Leonine Prayers:  Back in the days where the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite (a.k.a. Tridentine Mass) was the only form of the Roman Rite, Pope Leo XIII asked that the Leonine Prayers be said after every low Mass. When the Novus Ordo came out, the imposition (in other words, forcing) of reciting the Leonine Prayers was suppressed, according to Inter Oecumenici, a document put out by the Consilium of Sacred Congregation of Rites. This means that the Leonine Prayers were not required to be said after Mass.

However, there is spiritual benefit from reciting these prayers. Certainly, with Pope Benedict XVI's Summorum Pontificum, this tradition has come back for low Masses in the Extraordinary Form. Believe it or not, these prayers can still be said after what would be the equivalent of a low Mass in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite (a.k.a. Novus Ordo). I would certainly say that those prayers SHOULD be said after the equivalent of a low Mass in the Ordinary Form. Those prayers contain some big spiritual gems.

If you don't know what the Leonine Prayers actually consists of (I give the Latin, with the English in parentheses): the sequence of prayers consists of 3 Ave Marias (Hail Marys), 1 Salve Regina (Hail Holy Queen), 1 Saint Michael Exorcism Prayer (short form) (a.k.a. Prayer to Saint Michael), and 1 Cor Jesu. If you want the full text of these prayer (either to get started or as a guide), I have the full text of all the prayers uploaded, with Latin on the left side and English on the right side.

Leonine Prayers download: http://bit.ly/poJ59q

I've started the tradition of saying these prayers at my parish after daily Mass (since daily Mass is the closest thing to a low Mass). The amount of people I get varies, but there's always 1-3 people that always say it with me every time without fail. Another thing: If the Latin version of the prayers is an impediment for (full) participation for many people, do the Leonine Prayers in the vernacular. We should be doing anything and everything to make it easier for EVERYONE to participate, so if the vernacular is what gets the most people to do it, use the vernacular instead of the Latin. If the people aren't comfortable with the Latin and you are using the vernacular, you should probably wait AT LEAST a few months before engaging the people to make the suggestion to recite the prayers in Latin.

With all that is going on in the world, we certainly need extra prayers, and this is one way to get them. The St. Michael prayer is exceptionally good because with Satan and his many temptations these days, we really need God's help through the intercession of Saint Michael.

So, with that, do you already recite the Leonine Prayers in your parish after every low Mass-equivalent? Are you interested in getting this started at your parish? Do you have any other thoughts on this? Please let them be known via the comment box below. You can also follow me on Twitter (username is @rctechgeek) or e-mail me (e-mail address is catholictechgeek@gmail.com).

Everyone wants to make an Operating System Now

If you thought having Microsoft's Windows, Apple's Mac OS X, and Linux for operating systems was enough, you were wrong. So now it seems like everyone wants their own operating system. Google has Android and now Chromium (which uses the linux kernel as its core). On the handheld and mobile phone side, Samsung has their BaDA operating system.

To make things even more confusing (and nerve-wracking for both developers and consumers), now Mozilla is looking into making an operating system for mobile phones and tablets. Word has it that for this new operating system, Mozilla has decided to use Android's kernel and drivers as its base instead of Linux kernel and drivers as its base.

As a developer, this makes trying to make a program that will have a version for every mobile (and perhaps desktop too) operating system more of a pain. Personally, I like Firefox, but I think Mozilla should just work on trying to perfect Firefox more (especially in the "ram used" area) before trying to venture in the world of operating systems.

From a consumer's standpoint, this makes things complicated. Do I want a tablet running Windows, mobile Mac OS X (a la iPad), Android, or Mozilla's new os? Do I want a phone which runs Windows Phone, Android, mobile Mac OS X (iPhone), BaDA, or Mozilla's new os? This also has the potential for the many who do not do their homework before buying an expensive item like a laptop, a tablet or netbook, or a mobile phone to buy something they doesn't fit their needs and/or something they later regret buying.

Now I'm not totally opposed to Mozilla making an operating system, but I do think this is a bad time to do so. If Mozilla does go through with making an operating system, as soon as they release something like an alpha or beta version, expect the patent war to begin again and for all of the patent lawyers to start a suing frenzy, which brings me to another point.

In the world of user interfaces, it is certainly possible, but I don't thing you can make a graphical user interface shell these days without running into a patent issue. It seems like many of those companies (yes, I especially mean you, Apple) will file a patent for just about anything. When another company builds on what that patent entails and either creates something similar, but different or creates something better, the patent hounds are released and they go to war with each other. I know that companies want to protect their intellectual property, but if anyone from said companies are watching, please consider which patent lawsuits are worthwhile to pursue and which ones are not worthwhile to pursue. Frivolous patent lawsuits clog up the courts and waste hard-earned time and money.

That's all I have to say on the issue of operating systems for now. If you have any thoughts, comments, or questions on this whole operating system mess, please make them known via the comment box below. You can also follow me on Twitter as well (username is @rctechgeek).

Musical Keys and their Uses

With all these posts I've been doing on Technology and Catholicism, I thought it might be nice to take a break from all that and talk about music.

Anyway, through my study of music, I have found that each key that can be used in a key signature has a nature to it (and maybe feelings too) that warrants a certain key more suitable to convey a certain setting or situation than other keys. Here are some examples of what I mean. Please note I am referring to mostly the major keys and some of the minor keys, but not any other keys (like G Lydian). I will start with C and proceed through the circle of fifths.

• C: This key is more of a plain key and generic
• C#/Db: can be somewhat calm
• D: solemn, but can also be sweet
• D#/Eb: sweet
• E: another solemn key
• F: dreamy, and also good for a march
• G: glorious (in a way)
• G#/Ab: a mix of plain and strong
• A: solemn, could also be good for big bass sound??
• A#/Bb: majestic, good for a march
• B: fast moving??

Now for some minor keys (starting with A):

• A: sad and sorrowful
• A#/Bb: cool, good for jazz
• B: ?
• C: mysterious
• C#/Db: ?
• D: sorrowful or scary
• D#/Eb: cool, also good for jazz
• E: cool, good for jazz
• F: scary
• F#/Gb: ?
• G: Medieval
• G#/Ab: ?

Am I the only one who has ever thought along these lines? Have you ever thought about this or something similar to this? Do you agree with my choices or do you have a better suggestion for any of the keys (major or minor) I have chosen? If you could help me fill in the blanks that would be great. Please let it all be known via the combo box below. You can also follow me on Twitter (username is @rctechgeek).

Digital Books vs Physical Books

If you didn't get the news, Amazon.com has apparently slashed prices for renting electronic books for its Kindle reader by as much as 80%. This sounds like good news for those of us who have a Kindle or use the Kindle reader on a computer or pocket pc/smartphone. However, the renting sets a time limit on how long you can use the ebook before it becomes unusable. Printed books (new or used) don't have this problem at all. But is it worth choosing an electronic copy of a book over a physical copy of a book?

The argument for electronic books is a simple one. Who really wants to carry a backpack full of books on his or her back all day? With electronic books, I only have to carry around my ebook reader in my backpack and all of my books are stored in my ebook reader. However, like everything in life, there is a proper time and place for electronic books.

Books having to do with math and the sciences have little use for electronic books. For these books, you will often find that people may write notes in these books to help them to study and remember concepts. With electronic books, the software may allow you to enter page notes, but unlike physical books, you cannot position the notes on the page where you want them. Also, many of these books are kept for reference, as the next level of a subject matter builds on the previous level. For these kinds of books, you are better off buying a new or used physical copy of the book.

I can see electronic books working for areas like literature. For these classes, you will have to buy many books which you will use in class. For most of these books, you will probably not need them again in your lifetime, so a rental of that book for a period of time makes sense.

Computer Science/Computer Engineering is another area where electronic books can work. With the way technology grows and gets completely outdated, it's only a (short) period of time before a book on a particular topic gets outdated. If you get an electronic version of the book, you take it to learn the concepts and you can grow and build from resources outside of it (like the internet). For those books that teach basic, universal concepts, however, those books should be physical ones.

Now I also have a critique of the cycling of textbook versions by college professors. Before you decide to switch to a newer version of a book you are using, please review the new version first and compare it with what you are using now. Many times, the newer version of a textbook is only slightly different from the version that you are using now in your classes (some examples of differences are organization of the book, different page numbering, etc.) From a student's standpoint, it's not worth buying the newer version of a book if I can find a slightly older version of the book for less money than the newer version would cost if all of the concepts taught in the newer version of the book can be found in the older version of the book.

I know it's still the middle of the summer, but perhaps this will give both students and professors/teachers some time to think about this in preparation for the fall semester. Personally, I prefer my math and science books to be physical ones, while my literature (and other arts classes, except for music theory) to be electronic ones, but that's just one man's opinion. If you have any thoughts on this, please let them be known via the comment box below. You can also follow me on Twitter too (username is @rctechgeek).

A Reminder to Vote for Your Favorite Imagine Cup Team

Well, in the course of the Imagine Cup, things are (almost over) just beginning. Yet, everyone still has time to make a difference as to whom this year's winners are. I am speaking, of course, of the People's Choice Award. This is the one time where the decisions are out of the judge's hands and into yours. Go ahead and vote for which team that YOU think is worthy of this award. Time is running out though, because you only have until 21:00 GMT on 7-12-2011 (you can use this to figure out what time this is for you) before the voting is over and the results are in. Don't delay, VOTE NOW!

Link to Voting: Imagine Cup People's Choice Awards

If you want general Imagine Cup information (if you want more information or want to get ready for next year's competition), you can find that here.

Do you have a favorite team? Do you have any thoughts on any of the teams and their projects? Let me know via the comment box below. You can also follow me on Twitter too (username is @rctechgeek).

Update (7-12-2011): I was wrong about the timing of the Imagine Cup. The Imagine Cup actually started on the weekend and continues throughout this week. However, the deadline of 21:00 GMT on 7-12-2011 is correct and still in effect. Get your vote in before time runs out.

Another Update on BSA Eagle Tracker

BSA Eagle Tracker is not dead in any way, shape, or form. What has been taking a while is a couple of ui redesign issues after talking with a few of my friends in boy scouts. Anyway, I am happy to report that a countdown algorithm is now in place. After asking you for your birthday when you first set up the program, the program uses the given birthday to tell you how many days you have until the hard deadline, a scout's 18th birthday.

Here are some more screenshots (of the program's current state) to go around:

The Setup screen that comes up the first time you run the program

The Home Screen (with updates since the last screenshot)

And now some decisions to make: The following 2 pictures are some ideas I have for the requirements checklist

Now, do you like the first picture or the second picture more? For the first picture, to get to the full requirement text, the user chooses the requirement from the dropdown and presses the button. For the 2nd picture, to get to the full requirement text, you basically click on the text part of the checkbox.

Also, my idea for the merit badges

That is for the star rank, and I only have the eagle required stuff on there for now. You basically choose a merit badge from the list of available badges. Once a merit badge is "taken" it won't show up on another dropdown's list of available merit badges. And yes, in case you are wondering, I did put support in there for the eagle-required "choice" merit badges.

Depending on the response I get from you, the readers, I might be giving the interface an overhaul (so stay tuned) and is due to change. For now, I would like to know which of the 2 pictures above would be better. Please let me know what you like better via the comment box below. I am always open to new ideas and comments so I can make this program better. You can also follow me on Twitter (username is @rctechgeek).

Some Windows 8 News and Thoughts on Windows on ARM

It has recently been made known that Steve Ballmer plans to include some new information about the next version of Microsoft Windows, Windows 8, in his keynote address at the 2012 International CES Conference next January. With Windows 8, the shell gui is getting a makeover, integration with social networking and Xbox Live is being added (with, what I am guessing, is the death of the "Games for Windows" line and integration of those titles into Xbox Live), and a version of "mainstream" Windows is being made for ARM processors.

It looks like the new look of the Windows shell is here to stay. If you still use the traditional keyboard and mouse, you are going to have a fun time with the new interface, which is designed for touchscreens. I am still hoping that Microsoft will not throw the whole hard keyboard + mouse combination out the window while trying to design the shell gui and add in some options that will make the new window manager still easy to use with keyboard + mouse.

It is also noted that Windows 8 will be available for computers with ARM processors. It will be interesting to see how Microsoft has designed Windows for ARM processors. ARM processors are usually associated with embedded hardware, with the main method for (permanent) storage usually being flash rom and the os is flashed to a "rom chip" which upon booting, is "unpacked" either to ram (for smaller embedded systems) or to flash rom (which is the usual method used for embedded hardware). This is because embedded systems most have weaker processors than a desktop or laptop, but they also use less power.

Desktop Windows has always been designed for laptops or desktops, using a hard drive (or ssd) for storage and loading the os from the hard drive. Embedded systems do not usually have a hard drive in them, and even if they do, it is slower than booting from a rom chip. Microsoft does have a version of Windows for embedded systems (Windows CE for lower-end devices and Windows Embedded for higher-end device), so I imagine they will take some tricks from the 2 versions of embedded Windows for speed and processing. I am guessing booting will go something like this (similar to how booting to Linux works): after you turn on the system and you see the bios screen (if the device has one), Microsoft will have some sort of "ram disk" which contains some basic parts of the operating system (like the kernel) and some needed utilities to get the system started flashed from the rom chip to ram, and then loads the rest of the whole operating system

If you are hoping to run your old Windows programs on your new ARM tablet, I will say you are out of luck. This is because for native programs, they are compiled for only one type of processor, and will only work on that type of processor. The only exception is if Microsoft takes the "compatibility emulator" they are putting in Windows 8 for (x86 systems, at least) that allows you to run programs designed for earlier versions of Windows and modify it so it can run x86 code on it. Emulators allow you to run code code compiled for one architecture on another, but the system you are running it on must have enough processing power (and speed) to do this effectively. Programs which require a runtime environment (like the .NET Framework) to run will
be able to get past the processor limitation, because those programs are usually "write once, run anywhere", provided the other system has the needed runtime environment and libraries for your program.

Other than this, there hasn't really been any new Windows 8 information in a while. I imagine that we will be getting more information on Windows 8 as we head into the Fall and in Winter too. As far as Windows on ARM is concerned, I think it is a good addition to Windows. However, Microsoft should not forget that not everyone owns a tablet or a computer with a touchscreen and that many people still use the traditional desktop or laptop with keyboard and mouse/touchpad. I would just like to remind everyone that since this is still in the (programming) labs, things are due to change.

If you have any thoughts on this latest information on Windows 8 or Windows 8 in general, I am happy to hear them. Please make them known via the comment box below. You can also follow me on Twitter as well (username is @rctechgeek).

Edit: If you didn't see my older article on Windows 8, you can find it here.

Selene: A Game about the Moon

Are you a parent and your kids are just sitting around the house, bored over the summer? Are you a kid between the ages of 9 and 17? Are you an elementary, middle school, or high school science teacher and you are looking for something fun to add to your curriculum this year? Are you an educational researcher looking to see what effects video games can have on education? If you answered “YES!” to any of these questions, Selene is what what you have been looking for!

Selene is a game which challenges kids to learn about how the moon was formed. Players can construct the Earth’s Moon, then blast it with projectiles to form its surface and flood it with lava to create what you best think that the moon looks like.

For you educators, you will be happy to know that Selene meets AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) and NSES (National Science Education Standards) National Standards, as well as many state curriculum standards, including the game's home state, West Virginia.

In order to play the game, you will need the latest version of Flash, an up-to-date web browser, a broadband internet connection, and a computer with a good graphics card. The game works with Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. You can get away with using Integrated Graphics, but gameplay is much smoother (and faster) if you have a dedicated graphics card.

Because the game is part of a study, kids cannot directly sign up to play themselves. Rather, an adult, someone like a parent or teacher, must sign up as a “recruiter” first, and then the recruiter can generate access codes that kids can use to access the game. Any size group is welcome to sign up.

To get started, please visit http://selene.cet.edu/ to find out more and sign up.

 If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them in the combo box below. You can also follow me on Twitter (username is @rctechgeek)

The Supreme Court Decision and the State of Video Game Ratings Now

On June 27, 2011, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the video games are protected as a medium of free speech (or expression) under the first amendment of the Constitution and that the government cannot pass laws restricting the sale of any video game to minors.

To give you a summary of the law (parts taken from the Supreme Court opinion):

The law "prohibits the sale or rental of “violent video games” to minors, and requires their packaging to be labeled “18.” The Act covers games “in which the range of options available to a player includes killing, maiming, dismembering, or sexually assaulting an image of a human being, if those acts are depicted” in a manner that “[a] reasonable person, considering the game as a whole, would find appeals to a deviant or morbid interest of minors,” that is “patently offensive to prevailing standards in the community as to what is suit-able for minors,” and that “causes the game, as a whole, to lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.” §1746(d)(1)(A). Violation of the Act is punishable by a civil fine of up to $1,000. §1746.3."[1]

The law attempts to put violence into the category of obscenities. One of the main reasons that the state of California lost is because "it acknowledges that it cannot show a direct causal link between violent video games and harm to minors."[2] Using the definition of video games as free speech, the court said that "the curtailment of free speech must be actually necessary to the solution".[3] From what I can see, this law is separate from the ESRB ratings system that all (or most?) video games are judged by before they can be put on the market for selling. The ruling only affects any laws that a government has already made or could make.

To my knowledge, the standard ESRB ratings system is still in effect even with this ruling. Further, this ruling does not apply to a store's company policy if it has one. For example, Walmart (and a few other stores which sell video games) has a policy that that restricts the sale of M-rated games to those 18 (or is it 17?) and older. If a 12 year-old tried to buy a M-rated game (such as Grand Theft Auto), he or she would be denied because they do not meet the criteria in company policy for the sale of mature-rated games.

As Christians (and good people), we have an obligation to shield the young from obscenities and other harmful material. Parents are the ones that play the main role in doing so. Therefore, parents are the ones who should call the shots as far as which games their kids may or may not play. As the article says

"No doubt a State possesses legitimate power to protect children from harm, Ginsberg, supra, at 640–641; Prince v. Massachusetts, 321 U. S. 158, 165 (1944), but that does not include a free-floating power to restrict the ideas to which children may be exposed. “Speech that is neither obscene as to youths nor subject to some other legitimate proscription cannot be suppressed solely to protect the young from ideas or images that a legislative body thinks unsuitable for them.” Erznoznik, supra, at 213–214.3"[4]

 However, with the (sad) moral state we are currently in as a society, many parents do not take their job as a parent seriously. Many parents don't care about what kind of games their child gets into and/or do not know enough about video games that are out there. To help that, you have the ESRB ratings system which rates video games and helps parents make an informed decision as far as which video games their child is allowed to play. Parents, before your kids buy a video game, do your homework and try to find out what is actually in the video game (this can be done by methods such as game reviews, asking other gamers, or even asking the person who works at the video game store; much of the time, people who work at video game stores have knowledge of the games that are already out or going to be released) so that you can make an informed decision.

If you have any thoughts or comments on this, please share them with me and the other readers via the comment box below. You can also find me on twitter (username is @rctechgeek).


[1] Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Assn., 564 U.S. 3 (2011)
[2] Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Assn., 564 U.S. 14 (2011) 
[3] Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Assn., 564 U.S. 14 (2011) 
[4] Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Assn., 564 U.S. 9 (2011)

Some Games I would like to see be ported to Windows Phone

If you didn't know already, a Sonic the Hedgehog game was recently released for Windows Phone and is on the marketplace for your gaming pleasure. The much-anticipated Mango update Windows Phone is coming soon in the Fall, and is slated to be the best update yet to the Windows Phone operating system. Wouldn't it be great if some other games we know and love got ported to Windows Phone? With this, there are many games for other platforms that I would like to see a Windows Phone version of. Here are some of them, in no particular order of importance:

• Halo
     I'm sure many fans of the Halo series have wanted a mobile version of Halo for quite some time. With Halo being part of Xbox Live and Xbox Live being part of the Windows Phone operating system, there is a potential for mobile to mobile playing and mobile with Xbox playing as well, with Xbox Live integration not being a problem.
• Final Fantasy
     Who wouldn't want a few of the games in the Final Fantasy series being ported to Windows Phone? Final Fantasy I has already been ported to Windows Mobile, so we know it is possible, and some of the other Final Fantasy games deserve to be ported as well.
• Pokémon
    Little needs to be said for this one. Unfortuately, with the Pokémon games being in the hands of Nintendo, I don't think we have much chance of seeing any native ports. Now if someone would make an emulator that can play them and Microsoft (actually) lets it go on the marketplace, that would work as well.
• Duck Hunt
     This little gem from the Nintendo NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) caused people to spend endless hours playing this game. Now I know that you can't hook up a gun (if you didn't know, to play Duck Hunt on the NES, you used a "gun" controller to shoot the ducks) to your windows phone, but I can see touch input functioning as the "gun".
• Orions: Legends of Wizards
     This game was a Windows Mobile gem, winning many awards for gameplay. It is a mix of a card game and real-time-strategy. I'm sure that those of you that had Windows Mobile devices remember this game. Unfortunately, the Windows Mobile version never got an update so you could play it on HVGA resolution devices (in other words, devices with 800 x 480 resolution). This games deserves an update, a port to Windows Phone, and maybe some more expansion packs.
• Arvale
     This is another game (series) that was big on Windows Mobile. This one is sort of an RPG with dungeon crawler. Anyway, besides breaking the 4th wall much of the time, this game was enjoyable and I spent many hours playing them (the first full version that I actually played was Arvale: Short Tales; I just played trials of the Arvale games before).
• (Super) Mario Bros.
     Again, one of those games that don't need much said about it. However, like the Pokémon games, I doubt we will be seeing a native port of this from Nintendo.
• Angry Birds
     This great game is a hot seller on the iOS and Android operating systems. The only one out of the picture is Windows Phone. Many people have been asking for a port of this to Windows Phone for some time now, with me being one of them, and it is currently unknown (to me, at least) whether we will get a port of Angry Birds to Windows Phone or not.

I'm sure that I left out a couple of other games that deserve a port to Windows Phone. This is just a short list of some of them. I am curious to hear what games you think should get a Windows Phone port and if you agree (or disagree) with any of the items on my list. You can make your thoughts known via the comment box below.

'tis the Season to Imagine

Well, it's that time of year again. Summer has started and the Imagine Cup World Finals is just around the corner. Here, all the finalists from each country's own Imagine Cup competition will come from all over the globe to (this year) New York City to see who is worthy of winning the Imagine Cup.

In case you don't know what the Imagine Cup is, it is a technology competition with five categories, each with its own rules and objectives, tied to a particular common theme: Software Design, Embedded Development, Game Design, Digital Media, and (with the advent of Windows Phone 7) Windows Phone 7. The goal of the Software Design category is to come up with a software (and maybe hardware if need be) solution that solves a big problem in the world today. The goal of the Embedded Development category is to build a hardware and software solution that solves a big problem in the world today using embedded hardware and software. The goal of Game Design is to come up with the best game for either PC/Xbox, the web (via silverlight), or for Windows Phone 7. The goal of the digital media category is to make a video that conveys your view of an issue or issues in society that exists today which is visually and audibly interesting and stimulating. The goal of the Windows Phone 7 competition is to make the best (non-game) program for Windows Phone 7.

The US finals were held back in April at MS headquarters in Redmond, with the winners of Software Design being Team Notetaker from Arizona State University and the winners of Game Design being Team Bloom from Tribeca Flashpoint Academy for Windows/Xbox and Team Big Impact Bear from University of Houston for Windows Phone 7 Gaming. You can find the rest of the US winners here.

The Worldwide Finals will take place on July 8-13 in New York City. The winners from all of the categories in each country will be judged there to see who will take home the Imagine Cup.

Now, your vote is needed for the People's Choice Award in each category. You can find the voting site here. Your vote counts!

Now after reading this, some of you might be inspired to start an Imagine Cup team at your college/university or high school. This is good. You can find everything you need to get started for next year right here and all the tools that you (might) need can be found on Dreamspark.

Would anyone reading this article who has participated in the Imagine Cup competition before like to share there experience with other readers who haven't heard of the Imagine Cup before or have been considering it, but haven't entered before? Do you have any other thoughts on the Imagine Cup you would like to share? Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comment box below. I am also open to people following me on Twitter as well (username is @rctechgeek).

An Example of Anglican Mass Settings in the Roman Rite

A while back, I did a post (found here) on how it's possible for Anglican Mass settings to be used within the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite (with some modifications). Well, now I (finally) have an example to back this up.

The piece I did was Healey Willan's famous (Anglican Rite 1) setting of the Gloria. I would consider it to be the "Missa De Angelis" of the Anglican world. Please keep in mind that because this uses the new Mass translations, it cannot officially be used in Mass until Advent, when the new Mass translations go into effect.

Link for download (file is pdf file): Healey Willan Gloria Roman Rite Download

For those of you who want to get (somewhat of) a feel of how it sounds, you can listen to the original version on YouTube

Choirmasters, priests, and choir members, I would like to know if you would ever use this in your parish, given the chance. If you have any questions, comments, or thoughts about this or liturgical music for the new translation in general, I would like to hear them. You may make them known via the comment box or on Twitter (username is @rctechgeek).

A Boy Scout's Examination of Conscience

I've been thinking about the boy scouts a lot lately. For most examination of conscience forms I have found, they seem to include a bit for every kind of person (young kids, parents, senior citizens, etc.). However, I haven't really been able to find any that are geared toward young people, particularly young and teenage Catholic boys. So with that, I decided to try to make my own to help boy scouts everywhere make a better examination of conscience so they can make a good confession. I have tried to fit everything as best that I can into the context of the scout laws.

• Trustworthy
• Have I lied during Confession?
• Have I broken the law?
• Have I stolen any goods?
• Do I pay off my debts within a timely manner?
• Did I intentionally fail to honor any promises or contracts made?
• Have I been a good example to others in living out the Catholic faith?
• Did I fail to keep secret what should be confidential?
• Loyal
• Have I knowingly missed Mass on Sunday or any Holy Day of Obligation?
• Have I joined another Christian denomination, practiced any non-Christian religions, or fallen away from the Church?
• Have I engaged in anything Occult?
• Have I joined any group forbidden for Catholics to join (such as the Freemasons or Communists)?
• Have I put material goods first before God?
• Helpful
• Have I helped others to sin by scandal (or other means)?
• Have done my part to use my time, talent, and treasure to further the good work of the Church?
• Friendly
• Did I intentionally lie to ruin a person's reputation?
• Did I spread gossip or rumors about another person?
• Courteous
• Have I treated all members of the opposite sex with respect and not thought of them as sex objects?
• Have I been prejudiced, or unjustly discriminated against others because of their race, color, nationality, sex or religion?
• Kind
• Have I knowingly belittled others with my words?
• Have I ever wished evil on another person or wished that bad things would happen to a person
• Have I unjustly inflicted bodily harm on another?
• Have I intentionally abused another person either verbally or emotionally?
• Did I blaspheme or insult God?
• Obedient
• Have I listened to the requests of my parents and ignored them?
• Have I listened to the requests of those in authority other than my parents?
• Have I kept fast and abstinence on the days required?
• Did I do my Easter duty to receive Holy Communion at least once during the Easter Season?
• Cheerful
• Did I give in despair about my salvation or the forgiveness of my sin? 
• Did I ever get angry at God?
• Thrifty
• Did I eat too much in 1 sitting?
• Is food all that I think about?
• Did I intentionally misuse resources allotted to me?
• Brave
• Did I deny that God does exist?
• Have I failed to speak out and defend the Catholic faith and the Catholic Church?
• Have I failed to speak out in the defense of another person?
• Clean
• Have I neglected personal hygiene?
• Have I been looking at dirty pictures either in print or on the internet?
• Have I looked at a pretty girl with lustful eyes?
• Have I masturbated?
• Have I used illegal drugs?
• Have I dressed modestly?
• Reverent
• Have I remembered to leave sufficient time for prayer and to engage in daily prayer? 
• Did I receive the Blessed Sacrament in a state of Mortal Sin?
• Did I commit a sacrilege against the Blessed Sacrament?

With all this, there is probably some stuff that I forgot. If you can think of some more that I missed, be sure to let me know what they are and where they fit so that I can add them to this list (eventually, I plan to make this a sticky on the blog).

I'm curious to see what priests, religious, and laypeople alike, think of this version of an examination of conscience. I am open to any and all criticism. If you have anything to add to the list or have any comments on this list, please make them known via the comment box below or on Twitter (username is @rctechgeek).

What if Microsoft made a Linux Distribution?

My how much operating systems have progressed. Around the start of June, the first release candidate of version 3.0 of the Linux kernel was released. We all know that Windows has been around since the 80s. With Linux as one of Microsoft's great adversaries, I thought it would be fun to try to visualize what would happen if Microsoft did a complete 180° turn on Linux and made its own distribution of Linux.

For one, Microsoft would probably have the whole explorer shell as its desktop environment. Since it is Linux, the customization options here would be a little looser, but Microsoft would probably make it difficult for users to install another desktop environment or window manager, although the use of the console would not be limited in this way. Microsoft would probably modify the kernel to include (and also build, as kernel modules) some drivers that would normally not be included in a Linux distribution by default.

For the package manager, Microsoft would have it's own proprietary package manger + package type. This would, no doubt, tied into some online store that you would use to get programs. However, Microsoft would probably have some sort of way of installing packages locally. If you wanted to use packages for existing systems like rpm or deb, you would probably be out of luck because Microsoft would most likely tweak the system so that only packages in its proprietary format can be installed (but someone would eventually make something like the utility called Alien, which lets you convert packages from one format to another, like from deb to rpm).

For programs that would come with it, Microsoft Office would probably either not be bundled by default or have some sort of basic version of Microsoft Office bundled. If you wanted the full version, you would probably buy it through the online store and have to download it. Other programs, like paint or notepad, would probably be included, but would either be made totally by Microsoft or have Microsoft branding on it.

For those of you who like to use WINE to run your Windows programs under Linux, Microsoft would probably come out with something that serves the same purpose that would blow WINE (and also Cedega Crossover Office, the "paid, with support" version of WINE) out of the water.

Since the Zune player and Windows Phone 7 devices are so popular right now, Microsoft would include (or free download from online store) a Zune client that could interface with the Zune player and Windows Phone 7 to modify your mobile media library with few problems. Xbox Live would probably make a debut on the Linux platform as well.

Internet Explorer would get a native port to Linux, with all (or most) of the features that you would find on the Windows version. Windows Live would also get full Linux support as well. Samba support would be native, with Microsoft coming up with it's own version/implementation of SMB/CIFS (and NETBIOS too?).

There's probably a whole lot more that can be said about this. However, this is all that I could come up with for now. If you can think of some more things that weren't mentioned that would happen if Microsoft made it's own distribution, I would love to hear about it. If you have any other comments about this, make your thoughts known via the comment box, or on Twitter (username is @rctechgeek).

Microsoft makes porting programs from Android and iOS to Windows Phone easier

To help get more programs on to the Windows Phone Marketplace, Microsoft has recently been targeting developers of Android and iOS programs. To make things easier for those developers to port their programs to the Windows Phone platform, Microsoft has come out with documentation which maps the APIs found in Android and iOS to the applicable ones in Windows Phone. It even links the applicable Windows Phone API to the documentation page on MSDN. What's more is that if you see something wrong, missing, or you know of something better than what's given, you can tell Microsoft and the documentation will be changed.

This resource also has the reverse effect as well. Mobile developers who are starting out in the mobile world programming for Windows Phone or are students can use this resource to make programs for Android or iOS, assuming you have all the needed hardware and tools to make them. I know that once I finish my BSA Eagle Tracker program, I am going to work on porting it first to Android, and then to iOS. This API mapping guide makes it a lot easier for me to find the applicable API in the new platform and use it.

With Mango coming, I think that Microsoft is trying to make this the best update yet, complete with many feature updates and additions, bug fixes, and many new programs making their way onto the marketplace (in this case, from Android and iOS to Windows Phone).

The link to Android to Windows Phone documentation: http://wp7mapping.interoperabilitybridges.com/Home/Library?source=Android
The link to iOS to Windows Phone documentation: http://wp7mapping.interoperabilitybridges.com/Home/Library?source=iPhone

As an Android or iOS developer, do you think this is useful and will use this to start making programs for Windows Phone? Windows Phone developers, do you plan on using this resource to port your programs to Android and iOS for maximum exposure? Feel free to tell me via the comment box or on Twitter (username is @rctechgeek)

A Short Update on BSA Eagle Tracker

A while ago, I told you that I was making a program for Windows Phone 7 (my pet project for the summer) that allows a boy scout to track his progress to Eagle Scout (here's the link to the first post). Well, I have another update, in that I finished what is probably the hardest part next to saving everything, the merit badges. Trying to coordinate merit badge usage between Star, Life, and Eagle ranks was a pain, but I think I have everything under control now. I still haven't implemented saving yet because I want to get the user interface under control first. The User Interface for Star rank has now nearly finished and Life and Eagle ranks are next on the list. In case you're wanting a screenshot, here's what I have for the homescreen (which is the first screen that you see when the program loads). It would be great if you could give me some tips on how I can improve this.

Update 6-17-2011: Saving your progress is partially implemented now. I am still working out some (big) saving bugs though. Also, a few UI parts got updated to fit certain requirements better. More screenshots coming later. Your comments and criticisms are still needed to help improve this app.


For helpful tips or general comments, please put them in the comment box or send them to me on twitter (username is @rctechgeek).

Who says that Microsoft always copies from Apple?

With the announcement of iOS 5, the fanboys and other sheeple are going crazy as usual. As for me, I'm not impressed with the new features. We've all heard the old accusation that Microsoft always copies Apple, right? Well, in this case, the tables are turned, where many of the new features Apple is including in the next version of iOS are already present in Windows Phone. Perhaps if I explain myself more, you will see what I mean.

With this new version, Apple is touting the new "independence" from the laptop or desktop. Part of this is with their new iCloud service. Well, Windows Phone already has integration with Windows Live, with full integration with Windows Live coming with Mango. IOS devices can now update only the parts of the os + utilities that have updates instead of the whole thing. From the beginning, Microsoft has implemented a system for Windows Phone 7 which only update the parts which have updates (and analysis shows that parts of this update system were part of the os even as early as Windows Mobile 5, although in an inferior form).

The next one, Apple's new Game Center. Well, with the popularity of Xbox Life on the Xbox, adding Windows Phone to the mix can only make it better, giving you Xbox Live capability on the go. With the Game Center, Apple is trying to copy Xbox Live.

Apple is also touting the ability to sync over wi-fi. Well, you can already do that with Windows Phone 7 and the existing desktop Zune Client.

Apple has finally integrated tabbed browsing into Safari, about time(!). Internet Explorer in Windows Phone 7 has had this capability (standard) from the start (and I believe Android has also had this too).

Integration with Twitter is apparently coming in iOS 5. As for Windows Phone 7, this is coming with Mango, along with full Facebook integration as well.

The iPhone can now see things in year view. Microsoft already had this with made agenda, day, week, month, and year views being part of the calendar in Windows Phone 6.5 (and in versions of Windows Mobile from Pocket PC 2003 (SE?) on). Windows Phone 7 has all of this implemented in the calendar, but year view is very obscure. iCloud will allow you to share calendars with friends and family. I believe Windows Life already lets you do that.

One feature that Apple (I admit) does have that Windows Phone does not is the capability to mirror your media so that you can show it on a television. I do hope that Microsoft includes this capability in the future.

With the latest version of iOS, Apple is touting many new features. What many people don't realize is that a lot of these features aren't as new and "groundbreaking" as Apple (and its fanboys) makes it out to be. What I am doing is merely doing is highlighting some of those differences and showing where some of them can be found in Windows Phone. My hope is that this will dispel some of the hype and make people do their homework to see if this newer version will meet their needs or not (and if it does meet their needs, is getting it really worth it?).

So do you think that Apple's newest version of iOS is worth it? Do you have any other thoughts as to the reality of this update to iOS? Make your thoughts know here (in the comment box) or on Twitter (url for twitter is @rctechgeek).

Why I still have Windows Phone 6.5 even in the age of Windows Phone 7 (Part 2)

After I wrote the piece on some reasons that I still have a Windows Phone 6.5 device, I happened to think of some other reasons why Windows Phone 6.5 is still useful that I forgot to include in the last post (if you haven't read it yet, here's the link to part 1. So here are some more reasons why Windows Phone 6.5 is still useful (even with Windows Phone 7).

The first four have to do with bluetooth support. The first one has to do with the profiles that are included by default. According to Microsoft itself, the bluetooth profiles that are supported are Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP 1.2), Audio/Video Remote Control Profile (AVRCP 1.0), Hands Free Profile (HFP 1.5), Headset Profile (HSP 1.1), and Phone Book Access Profile (PBAP 1.0). One thing that is definitely missing is bluetooth keyboard support. I don't know about anyone else, but aside from maybe the phones with a built-in hardware keyboard (like the LG Quantum or the HTC Arrive), it can be cumbersome at times to use the onscreen soft keyboard. Having a hardware keyboard can be a big typing error preventer and allows text to be typed faster, meaning you get access to it faster. The iPad has this capability and the any Windows Phone 6.5 device (whether running the Broadcomm bt stack or the Microsoft bt stack) has this capability.

The next one also has to do with the file explorer, but with Windows Phone 6.5, I can do bluetooth file transfers. Since Windows Phone 7, does not implement the OBEX File Transfer protocol, this is not possible under Windows Phone 7. This means you can't use your laptop's bluetooth to send a file (like a word document or a new ringtone) to your Windows Phone 7 device. I do admit that this is a feature that I don't use a lot, but it's very handy when I do need to use it.

The next one is external gps support. With Windows Phone 7, I am limited to the gps that is included in the device. With Windows Phone 6.5, in addition to using the gps my device may have built-in, I can use bluetooth to connect to an external (hardware) gps with bluetooth and access functions in the external gps. I realize that many people are fine with what's built-in or with no gps at all (I will admit that I still use the old-fashioned paper "map" when I go on vacation trips in the car), but I have gotten reports from many people that a certain external hardware gps (there is no one specific external, hardware gps that I am referring to), performs better than the gps that may be built-in with the Windows Phone 7 device.

The next one is the ability to transfer a contact from one device to another via bluetooth. With Windows Phone 6.5, I could use bluetooth to choose a contact from my address book and send it to another Windows Phone 6.5 device and the contact would be in the second 6.5 device's address book. In Windows Phone 7, you cannot do this. I don't know much about the Phone Book Access bluetooth profile, but I imagine it wouldn't be too hard to use this to enable you send a contact (preferably from "People") from one Windows Phone 7 device to another, as long as the two devices are paired. This would definitely be useful in a case like Microsoft's TechEd conference (Microsoft, I hope you are reading this), where you have many people present and the giving of contact information is a normal activity.

The next one is lack of VOIP support in Windows Phone 7. With the advent of Mango, skype support will be (supposedly) be built-in, but what if you do not use skype? What if you use a 3rd party voip service? If this is the case, you are out of luck. With Windows Phone 6.5 (and even 6.1), you can use your device to make voip calls, and the best thing is that you can use the address book that's built-in to the os (configuration was a bit advanced, but there are utilities out there that make it easy).

The next one is the ability to make playlists on the device. With Windows Phone 6.5, Windows Media Player mobile allowed you to save a new playlist and edit existing playlists (there was one 3rd party program out there, called PlaylistMgr, that made making playlist on the device a lot easier than doing it from within Windows Media Player mobile and you could even include media files which were on the device, but weren't part of the Windows Media Player mobile library). Under Windows Phone 7, you have to make the playlist in the Zune (desktop) client first, and then transfer the playlist to the device. This can be annoying at times when you don't have your desktop or laptop handy and you still want to make a playlist. Add to this, my wish that Microsoft gives you the capability to add a youtube video to a playlist in the zune player as well.

The last one is the ability to do p2p multi-player gaming either via bluetooth or via wi-fi (and even cross-platform multi-player gaming). Under Windows Phone 6.5, it was possible to do both, and it made gaming on the platform even better (Orions: Legends of Wizards, anyone?). Under Windows Phone 7, this is not possible (mostly due to lack of socket support in the os currently), but I hear that Mango will fix this. Big things will come when things work like they do on the Xbox, you can either "link" other devices together or go multi-player on Xbox Live. You will still need a good internet connection though, for gaming on the internet (either wi-fi or 3G, EDGE will not cut it).

These are some more reasons that I thought of that I still use Windows Phone 6.5 in the age of Windows Phone 7. I hope that Microsoft will be reading this and fix (most) of these issues with future versions of Windows Phone.

Do you think that Windows Phone 6.5 is outdated or do you think there is still some worth to it even with Windows Phone 7 (and Mango coming)? Feel free to let me know here (in the comment box) or on Twitter (url for twitter is http://www.twitter.com/rctechgeek).

Why I still have Windows Phone 6.5 even in the age of Windows Phone 7

In case you are wondering what Windows Phone 6.5 is, it's just the renamed form of Windows Mobile 6.5. Anyway, with Windows Phone 7 out right now and Mango just around the corner (termed version 7.x), some might wonder why I still keep a device handy that runs the older version. Why is this? Well, there are some aspects of Windows Phone 6.5 that I still use and I can't find in the newer Windows Phone 7 (or even Mango).

The first one is WP6.5 has a file manager and access to the file system. What's more is the fact that a 6.5 device can act as a SD card reader in a desktop or laptop. I'm sure it's not above Microsoft to add this to Windows Phone 7 (I found a post on the internet with an early rendition of Windows Phone 7 with a file manager, so it's possible), but you must admit that sometimes, the isolated storage concept can get in the way. This is true especially when you have e-mail attachments which requires a certain program to open it.

The second one is that with Windows Phone 6.5, I can take my media library on my SD card and transfer it to any other device as long as it has the right size SD card slot. With Windows Phone 7, you have to sync your media library on each device, taking portability right out of the equation. I do realize that some phones, like the Samsung Focus, have an external SD card slot in them, but the majority of phones only use the SD card as a sort of "raid storage" (which is how the os works). The portability also goes with the file manager in that I can store documents on the SD card and (assuming I have the right reader in my desktop or laptop) I can open up that same document on my desktop that I just had open on my mobile device.

The third one is lack of console emulators with Windows Phone 7. I do realize that you can you write an emulator with managed code (such as C#), but all of the good emulators seem to be written in native code (using C++, something that Windows Phone 7 lacks). I can think of a few times where I've been on trips and I wanted to play a console game on my device (such as Pokemon Yellow), but I had to use my 6.5 device to do it. Some of the games written for Windows Mobile were really good (such as Orions: Legends of Wizards), but they can't easily be ported to Windows Phone 7 due to lack of native code support.

The fourth one is the capability to "sideload" programs under Windows Phone 6.5. With Windows Phone 7, you can only install programs using the marketplace (developers know a way around this though). 6.5 allows you to keep the installation file handy on your device (sd card is preferred) and if something happens where you need to reinstall, you have the installation file ready with no waiting for downloads. With Windows Phone 7, you only are allowed to get what is "approved" for the marketplace and you can't install programs (normally) that are useful, but but wouldn't pass marketplace approval for certain reasons. With Windows Phone 6.5, you can install programs from local storage in addition to the marketplace (few to no restrictions as to what you want to install, in other words).

These are just a few of the reasons why even though I have a Windows 7 phone, I still keep my Windows Phone 6.5 device handy. If I think of any more good reasons, I will start a new post with those ideas.

Do you think that Windows Phone 6.5 is outdated or do you think there is still some worth to it even with Windows Phone 7 (and Mango coming)? Feel free to let me know here (in the comment box) or on twitter (url for twitter is http://www.twitter.com/rctechgeek).


Edit:  If you haven't read it yet, part 2 is here

Anglican Mass Settings Use in Roman Rite

As Roman Rite Catholics who follow the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite, it's no secret that we are moving to new translations of the Mass text come Advent. With this coming, we need new Mass settings. Is it possible to use parts of Anglican Mass settings in the Ordinary Form of the Mass?

The answer to this question is: out of the box, No. However, they can still be used in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite, but you must first modify the text to fit the text of the new translations. The Mass text between the "Anglican Mass" (Rite 1) and the new translations is strikingly similar. For an example, let's look at the Gloria (minus the part that the priest intones):

 " and on earth peace, good will towards men. We praise thee, we bless thee, we worship thee, we glorify thee, we give thanks to thee for thy great glory, O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty.

O Lord, the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ; O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us.

For thou only art holy; thou only art the Lord; thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high in the glory of God the Father. Amen."

 From what I see, just change some of the archaic English to modern English (like "thee" to "you") and some phrasing on some parts of the passages to fit the new translation text, and you can reuse the most of the melody of those Anglican Mass settings. The one that comes to mind for me the most is Healey Willan's setting of the Gloria (in Excelsis).

On a side note, it's amazing how the Anglicans had an older form of the new Mass translations up until the 1970s-80s, when they moved to a newer form of the Rite which takes much from the Novus Ordo form of the Roman Rite.

Do you think this would work in a normal parish Mass? Do you have any other thoughts or comments on this? Feel free to share it via the combo box or on Twitter (username is "rctechgeek", link to profile is in the "About Me" section).


Update 6-17-2011: I have an example of this (a setting of the Gloria) uploaded and ready for your viewing     (here's the link to the post).

Can we please have some Holy Day of Obligation Uniformity?

As many of you know, yesterday was the Feast of the Ascension, a Holy Day of Obligation in the Roman Rite. The normal day of this feast day is Thursday, but in recent years, the USCCB (US Catholic Conference of Bishops) has allowed the feast of the Ascension (for the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite) to be moved to the following Sunday instead of having it on the original day of Thursday. Furthermore, it is up to the local bishop to determine this, leaving much confusion with the laity as to when this is. This is normally made known before this day, but travelers are left out of the mix as a result of this "option". In order to be safe and avoid this mess, you could go to an Ordinary Form Mass on Ascension Thursday, go to an Extraordinary Form Mass on Ascension Thursday, or attend any Divine Liturgy (the name for Mass in the Eastern Rites) at any Eastern Rite church (in communion with Rome) on Ascension.

I have noticed that in recent years, there has been a decline in the handling of Holy Days of Obligation. For many feasts, they have become "optional" (you don't have to go, but it's highly recommended that you do go) or become "movable" (such as Ascension Thursday). This, I think, has partially to do with the busyness of society and how it views church. People have become too lazy or too busy to take time out to go to church on a day other than Sunday. In the Eastern Rites, there's not exactly Holy Days of Obligation, but there are days where the laity are expected to come to church to celebrate a particular event in the life of Christ and the Church. In some Catholic churches, if there's a holy day of obligation that's optional, the Mass schedule isn't changed to accommodate the feast day. Besides, those Holy Days of Obligation are only a handful of days out of the calendar year, so is it too hard to take some time out to go to Mass on those days?

We need to get back to viewing Holy Days of Obligation as days where you always go and be part of the Mass with joy. Those days that are "optional" still need to be promoted as days where you attend Mass. You always get something good and helpful out of the Mass, so why would you want to skip Mass on those days? If there's a feast day in the Church, make some effort to go to Mass.  Those Feasts are on those days for a (very good) reason, so why must we mess with their dates while confusing the laity at the same time? It would be nice to have the Holy Days of Obligation uniform throughout all the dioceses in the US so that you don't have to inquire which day this Holy Day of Obligation is actually on in this Diocese. The Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite and all the Eastern Rites seem to not have this problem, so why does the Ordinary Form have it?

If you have any thoughts of your own on this, I would like to hear them (just put them in the comment box below). Feel free to tell me on Twitter as well (username is "rctechgeek", link to profile is in the "About Me" section).

What Windows 8 has taken from Windows Phone

If you didn't get the news recently, Microsoft has started to unveil some of the details of the the next version of Windows, Windows 8. The shell (strangely) looks like the one you find in the Windows Phone operating system. Rather than the traditional desktop with icons and the start menu, the desktop is now comprised of "live tiles". While there is support for the traditional methods of input such as a mouse or hardware keyboard, Windows 8 has a new soft keyboard for tablets and slates, which takes up quite a bit of the screen. If you don't have a touchscreen, there will probably be a way to disable it.

If you're wondering about compatibility with programs written for older versions of Windows, fear not, for Microsoft has built a "compatibility mode" into Windows 8 for those older programs. This compatibility mode looks just like the Windows 7 shell, but it's integrated with the overall look and feel of Windows 8. This, I'm sure, will be a big need of enterprise users if they are ever going to adopt Windows 8.

Unlike Windows Phone, Windows 8 actually has a File Manager (unlike Windows Phone, which does not have a file manager)! However, the file manager has changed a bit to fit the new interface (particularly with music, pictures, and videos). If you don't like it, you can still go back to the traditional look of the file manager. Windows Media Player has taken up the Zune interface that is present in the Zune itself and Windows Phone, with (probably) no option to take the old Windows Media Player interface. There is also no word on whether Windows Media Player will be the only way to play media or if 3rd party media players will be allowed, but I'm guessing that there will be some 3rd party players allowed because of the compatibility with older versions of Windows.

From the look of the new Start screen, we see an icon for a "Windows Marketplace". I assume it will work just like the Windows Phone marketplace. However, I am glad that the marketplace will not be the only method to load programs on to the system (as it is in Windows Phone), and you can install programs the traditional way too.

Multi-tasking looks like it will work just like it will in Mango, the next version of Windows Phone. The window manager allows you to change the screen so that you can have more than 1 program on the screen at a time. This is true even with the programs for older versions of Windows, but the compatibility mode
counts as a "program".

There is a new emphasis on programs written in HTML5 and Javascript, which might allow for some speed increase. There's probably going to be an engine service running in the background that will parse all of the instructions when you run a program written in HTML5 and/or Javascript.

There is no official word yet (that I know of) on support for Windows 8 with ARM processors. If computers with ARM processors CAN run Windows 8, those computers will not be able to run programs designed for older versions of Windows (due to the processor that those older programs were compiled for and you can't change unless you compile those programs for an ARM processor) unless Microsoft builds some kind of emulator into Windows 8. If anyone knows of some official word on this, please enlighten me.

With Windows 8 still in the labs, there isn't a whole lot that I can tell you about it, but I know that it will definitely change the Windows shell forever (just as Windows 95 did). I can say that the system requirements to run Windows 8 will probably break the "new version of windows so you need better hardware to run it" mentality that has been with every new major version of Windows since Microsoft is also trying to target the tablet and slate crowd as well as the desktop and laptop crowd. Stay tuned as I will be coming out with more details in the coming weeks as Microsoft makes things known to us.

Edit: Here's the video so you can see some of the changes for yourself

Of Eagles, Boy Scouts, and Windows Phone

Over the past few days, I have been helping my brother with his Eagle Scout project, which has been taking a lot of my writing time. As for me, I am already an Eagle Scout. As part of giving back to scouting more than that it has given me, I am working on a program (for Windows Phone) that any boy scout to use to track his progress to Eagle. It will be something like this: the first time the program is run, you get a "setup" screen which gets your birthday, name (name is optional), and religion (religion is also optional). Then, you are brought to the home screen (which is where the program will open every further time it is run), which shows your current rank and how long you have until your time runs out (since all requirements, except for the Eagle board of review, have to be completed before the 18th birthday), and you can go to a rank to look at requirements for it. I also plan to have little reminders for the boys (like for example, a reminder for scoutmaster conferences and board of review and a countdown to the 18th birthday if the scout hasn't gotten Eagle yet and is getting near the deadline). Besides having all the requirements, I will eventually have an add-on to it that will allow you to get any requirement for a merit badge. This way, you won't have to lug the merit badge requirements book with you, but you will still have to get the booklet for the individual merit badges (if needed at all). Any awards the scout might get, such as the totin chip and the Ad Altare Dei religious award (I am Roman Catholic), will also get an add-on. For the religious awards, I will have it filtered based on the religion you specified during setup (if you didn't choose it during setup, you will have the opportunity again to choose it here, or this section will be blank). All of this is designed to be mobile and not dependent on the internet, which will allow the boys to have something ready and available while "out in the field". Right now, it is still in the developing stages, but if you would like some snapshots of the program anyway, I will be happy to provide them.

I'm curious to hear what everyone thinks of this idea, so feel free to give me your thoughts via the comment box.


Update 6-3-11: Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class requirements are done, but no save capability yet for anything. The Home Screen is also semi-finished. Some screenshots will be coming later once I get a few more things with the program done.

Update 8-3-11: Version 1.0 of BSA Eagle Tracker has been released and is in the Windows Phone Marketplace. More details can be found here.

Windows Phone Apphub Marketplace 2.0 is coming

At TechEd, everyone who came to the session on Windows Phone Marketplace learned about some details about some changes coming to the marketplace with the release of Mango. Well, developers rejoice, for some great changes are coming that will make program testing and distribution much easier.

The first change coming is that you will be able to have beta testers before you decide to publish your program to the marketplace. After setting up your program in marketplace as a beta, you then give out a link to all of your beta testers. Your testers can then use that link to download the "beta" version of your program to their phones without having to have the testers' phones developer-unlocked. All of your testers will need to have a windows live id to download your beta (but you need that for marketplace anyway). However, the beta version of your program is only good for 90 days, but you can put out a new beta version of your program which has that 90 day limit "reset". Plus, there is still nothing like a crash test tool that can collect system information about your program (aside from the debugger).

The next change is that you will be able to have privatized programs. With this, your program is hidden from any marketplace searching and only people who have the link to your program will be able to get it. However, if the link to your program gets leaked, there's not much that can be done about limiting the distribution of your program.

The third change coming is a welcome one for students. If you sign on to Dreamspark, you will no longer have to verify with Geotrust (Dreamspark will trust that you're a student) before you can developer-unlock your phone and start publishing programs to the marketplace. Before this change, you first had to submit a program to the marketplace, wait for Geotrust to verify you, and then be able to developer-unlock your phone and start publishing programs. With the advent of Mango (the next Windows Phone release), you will no longer have to wait. I hope this will be (somewhat of) an incentive to work on getting together a team to make a program for the Imagine Cup competition next year.

The last change is with publishing games. With Mango, there is now going to be a ratings system (standard ESRB) built-in to Marketplace. You will also be able to publish mature games to the marketplace now, which means we will finally be able to see mobile Halo make it into the marketplace soon for the enjoyment of many gamers out there.


With the advent of Mango and all of its wonderful changes, additions, and updates, I know that these changes to the marketplace will help to make the Apphub Marketplace grow and become better to use for everyone. I certainly welcome these changes and hope other developers and users out there will welcome these changes as well.

Questions? Comments? I would certainly like you hear your view on this. Feel free to follow me on twitter as well (username is "rctechgeek", link is in the "About Me" section).

Microsoft TechEd Conference Day 3

If there's one thing I've learned with TechEd, it is to always obey your alarm clock when it goes off in the morning. Anyway, some exciting things did happen. After looking at the list of sessions for the day, I figured that most of the day was best spent doing the hands-on labs the Microsoft had. Some of the most hardcore questions related to Windows Phone development were asked at session WPH374-INT, everything from multitasking and how to handle Windows Phone tombstoning properly to how to play swf and flv files. At around 16:45, AT&T held a scavenger hunt for TechEd participants, and I decided to partake in it. It was broken down into missions and every team got a set of missions they had to complete. I was team leader for my team, and a bunch of crazy stuff happened. Some examples included: getting a picture of a team member doing something outrageous and crazy, a drinking race (with beer), making a 20 second how-to video on a topic related to computers, an arm wrestling competition, and doing a little dance. Afterwards, AT&T had food and drinks for us, along with the viewing and voting of most of the pictures and videos that the teams made. It was about 22:00 when I finally made it back to the hotel, and after brushing my teeth and talking to mom and dad for a while, fell asleep without problems.

Microsoft TechEd Conference Day 2: part 1

Last night was a blast. After all the sessions at TechEd were done for the day, I, and many others, attended a Windows Phone 7 hackathon. The goal of this was to give attendees who were new to developing for Windows Phone a "training session" on how to develop programs, starting with the basics, and upload them to the marketplace. Unfortunately, I think I broke Marketplace when I tried to upload my first program for submission. I hope Microsoft can fix this problem as soon as possible so I can submit my programs. At the end, there was a contest for best program (due to time constraints, the program didn't have to be a finished product). I entered my BSA Eagle Tracker program, which (when finished) gives a boy scout working towards Eagle Scout a portable way to track their progress toward achieving Eagle Scout. In the end, I came in third place, losing to a program that shows information from a website about beer (first place) and a program that tracks a pregnant women's path to childbirth (second place). It was after midnight when I finally got back to the hotel.

Because I got back late, I ended up sleeping in late and missing the first round of sessions. Luckily, I was able to make it in time for one of the sessions in the second round I really wanted to attend, "Monty WiFion and the Quest for the Holy Grail of Network Security". In this session, I learned about some of the (wireless) technologies that have come along in recent years, how they can be compromised and hacked, and how to prevent and avoid attacks that may happen with those wireless technologies.

More is coming later, so stay tuned for more. If you were at the hack-a-thon last night, I would like to hear about your experience there (via the comment box) or if you have some other thoughts about TechEd (in general), I would like to hear about that too (in the comment box). While you are at it, consider following me on Twitter as well (Twitter username is "rctechgeek", link is on the side of the page in the "About me" section).

Microsoft TechEd Conference Day 1: part 2

Well, I got through the long keynote address and through some sessions. The big thing with the keynote, and the conference theme somewhat, is integration in the cloud with a multitude of devices, which may not always be running the same operating system. A strong emphasis was placed on Sharepoint as being a central place where workers can collaborate from anywhere. Office365 was included in the whole cloud computing topic as the future focus of Microsoft Office is headed in the direction of being able to work on your documents from your computer, your handheld device, or the web (with the advent of MS Office online).

With all this talk of the cloud and the cloud doing some of the processing that a computer might normally be forced to do, what would happen if multi-player gaming (any category and any genre) used the cloud for some of the processing. Would the internet connection be fast enough to handle it? Could the computer still render the necessary graphics and sound in a decent amount of time? I think that using the cloud to do some of the heavy lifting that a good graphics card for gaming usually does could result in bandwith issues (and as a result, ruin the experience for everyone playing). Maybe I'm wrong on this, but if someone has a solution to this that works, I'll take it.


Questions? Comments? Feel free to give me your 2 cents in the comments box

Microsoft TechEd Conference Day 1: part 1

As part of my Microsoft Student Insider job, I was asked to attend the Microsoft TechEd conference (on twitter, this is www.twitter.com/TechEd_NA). If you do not know what TechEd is, it is a conference geared towards I.T. professionals to learn how to use Microsoft technologies to their fullest potential in their respective businesses and to discuss the use of these technologies. The big theme this year seems to be collaboration and integration along with the cloud. There isn't a whole lot more I can say right now about it, as the just started, but I will be sending more information periodically during every day of the conference, so stay tuned for more.


Short Update: Office 365 integration and more cloud computing stuff will be coming to Mango, the next version of Windows Phone

Update #2 (10:34 EDT): Accelerometer simulation and location simulation during testing is coming to the next version of the Windows Phone SDK, due later this month

Some Thoughts on the Royal Wedding and Marriage in General

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few weeks or cut off from the rest of the world, you probably heard about the royal wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine Elizabeth Middleton in England. We both know that the couple has spent loads of money on their wedding. There has been a lot of publicity regarding this wedding. This makes one wonder why so much money should be spent on a wedding and is it ever possible for one to have a simple wedding? With this in mind, everyone, especially those that are married, will take to heart one simple phrase which I learned from my parents when they did Engaged Encounter weekends when I was younger:

A WEDDING is for a DAY, A MARRIAGE IS FOR A LIFETIME

Granted, it varies culturally how much financial resource is acceptable to be spent on a wedding, but a wedding can be simple. All that is needed for the Sacrament of Marriage is a man, the groom, a woman, the bride, and a witness, which can be a deacon or priest. The man and the woman are the ministers of the sacrament and the deacon or priest is the witness. Nothing else is needed: no guests (although you should at least have family with you like the mother and father of the bride and groom), no organ, no fancy wedding dress for the bride or tuxedo for the groom (although a dress for the bride and a suit, at least, for the groom are preferred), none of that extra stuff. People complain that a wedding in the church is too expensive or they rush marriage too quickly, giving rise to things like outdoor weddings (which can be more expensive and who WOULDN'T want to get married in a church, before God) or Las Vegas-style weddings, done before a "Justice of the Peace" (where the State recognizes the "Marriage", but the marriage is still not valid in the eyes of God). Cultural feelings toward weddings force couples planning a wedding to spend more than they need, which can cause problems in a marriage later on.

As I said before, a Marriage is for a LIFETIME! In the marriage vows, the phrase "until death do us part" is there for a reason. When when the man and woman say this, they vow, before God, that they will stay together for ALL times, whether they be good times or bad times. Only when a spouse dies is the other spouse still living allowed to wed again and be married to another. This is because the wedding vows made before God have been fulfilled and you are no longer bound by them (although you can still follow them if you want). If William and Kate live out those vows for their lifetimes, that will be an example for which all that are married can follow.

I think the Media treats the sacrament of marriage as if it were a game and the rules of the game are governed by the government and based on one's feelings. It goes something like this: Famous Man is wed to Famous Woman, Media creates a lot of buzz about the wedding, Famous Man and Famous Woman are happy with their marriage for a while, Famous Man and Famous Woman have children, Media gets all excited, Something happens to either Famous Man or Famous Woman and marriage starts to falls apart, Media (which should stay out of this) "reports" on the marriage troubles, People start to gossip about it, Marriage falls apart and either Famous Man or Famous Woman files for divorce, Either Famous Man or Famous Woman start dating again while their divorced spouse is still alive, Famous Man or Famous Woman still dating decides to get married again while spouse is still alive, wash, rinse, repeat

Those preparing for marriage: don't rush things and make sure that the one you wish to marry is really "the One". If things are rushed, things are more likely to not work out in the marriage. Cohabitation is NOT AN OPTION (it's also a mortal sin), as it ruins things and makes the marriage more likely to fail. Married couples: please stick with your spouse no matter how bad it gets. If we are getting into issues like domestic violence and other like issues, that is a topic for another day. Two of the big parts of marriage are Faithfulness and Compromise. If a couple is faithful to each other, trust builds between the two of you and you can trust each other with more important matters. With compromise, both minds don't always think alike, so you will both be happy if you can find a middle ground and agree with each other. Always keep these two ideas in mind and they will help you to have a successful marriage.

Questions? Comments? Sound off Below!

Imagine Cup and where to go from here

I know this is late, but congrats to all those who made it through the Imagine Cup finals to the end to be winners. Yes, this means YOU Team Note-Taker (http://bit.ly/gMFc1P). I hope to see all of the winners in the worldwide finals happening in July in New York City.

Now, after seeing what goes on here, I would like to see one of two scenarios take place: either the Microsoft Student Insiders, of which I am a part of, participate in either game design category of either mobile or xbox or the software design category or I lead a team from my college, Wheeling Jesuit University, to the Imagine Cup. Both scenarios will not be easy, but I'm sure they are doable.

Imagine Cup US Finals: Day 1

After finally getting to the airport after a long plane ride (about 4 hours and 35 minutes straight), I was taken, along with the finalists who made it to the final rounds, to a nice, fancy hotel. Once we were all set, buses started taking people to registration in building 92, followed with a gathering in "The Mixer". There, I was able to get a look at the projects that had made it all the way to the finals.

The projects are broken down into 2 main categories, software design and game design. There were some interesting ideas there, but the 2 ideas from software design that I like are Note-Taker and Lifelens. The goal of Notetaker is to "help low-vision and legally blind students take notes in their secondary and post-secondary classrooms as quickly (and with the same ease) as their fully-sighted peers." The goal of Lifelens is to "introduce an innovative point-of-care smartphone application to address child mortality rates caused by the lack of detection and availability of treatment for malaria."

As part of dinner, Alex Kipman, a member of the Xbox development team, was brought in as a guest speaker to speak to all of the finalists. The main message of the speech was "Not Being Afraid to Fail". In his speech, he described software development as "an art form" that is still new and also told finalists to not listen to those who say your idea is not possible, because if you listen to those people, your crazy idea will not come into fruition. Sure, you might have some failure along the way, but if you can't accept failure you will never be a good developer in life. I think this applicable in all kinds of areas other than just software development. After all, we wouldn't have some of the inventions that we think of as standards today if it weren't for crazy developers and inventors.

I will be posting periodically throughout the whole weekend about this competition, so stay tuned for more.

If you have any comments, sound off below: