Howto solve IE's Unknown Runtime Error in Javascript

OK, this type of error is really case by case, specific to IE, but in general, Internet Explorer, even though many users and developers don't really care for, is actually stricter on checking the HTML compliance, which is not necessarily a bad thing especially for javascript development. I came across this post when trying to debug this weird error: Unknown Runtime Error, when I'm trying to insert a custom dojo widget in the page. According to the post and discussions, this error could be caused by trying to manipulate innerHTML, or nested form tags, etc.. In my case, it was the nested form tags (thought I figured this out myself, but earlier comments already pointed this out). The rule of thumb is that once you see a "Unknown Runtime Error" from IE, there is something not compliant with HTML standards in your code. The practice should be, first, check your javascript code using JSlint.com to fix all the missing semicolons, or comma, that Firefox and Chrome would simply ignore, then, if the error persists, check to see if you're trying to manipulate innerHTML from within the javascript, or nested Form tags. Hope this will help!

Amazon or Costco or else

I've been ordering a lot of stuff lately from Amazon, from bluray movies, books, toys, to hair product, electronics and accessories, and even sub-woofer. Small or big, light or heavy, all came in within 2 business days by Amazon Prime free 2-day shipping, and no sales tax! Just about the time that I think I can buy everything from Amazon, I ordered a couple of the laundry detergents and fabric softeners. They are heavy shipments, all came in within 2 days, but the portions were much smaller than the ones I'd find at Costco or Target store at similar prices. OK, so I saved on sales tax, and a trip to the store, but paid more for less. That being said,  I think Amazon is changing the way people shop, the only advantage Cosco has right now is that they sell grocery, and Amazon doesn't and probably very hard to do so to compete. Movies, music, books, electronics, toys, etc., are perfect for Amazon shopping!

HowTo Jailbreak Firmware iOS 4.2.1 for iPhone 4

Redmondpie.com's has this very straightforward guide (Jailbreak iPhone 4 4.2.1, iPad, iPod touch with Redsn0w [VIDEO GUIDE] | Redmond Pie) to jailbreak your iOS device. According to the video, this instruction is suitable for 4, 3GS, 3G, iPad, and iPod touch. Written instruction is here.
You will need:

1. iOS 4.2.1, which you can find the links here;
2. iTunes 10.1 for Windows or Mac;
3. Redsn0w 0.9.6b4 for Windows or Mac (if the link the zip file is broken, just google "Redsn0w 0.9.6b4", I found a link here);

First install Redsn0w, if you're using Windows, first scan the zip file with an anti-virus program (you should too if you use a Mac, and don't get me started on this), I use Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware 1.46;
The video and written instructions are using Mac, but the Windows screen is almost the same, so just follow the instructions. One note though, this jailbreak is NOT a untethered jailbreak, which mean you will need to boot it to the "jailbroken state" and connected to a computer every time you reboot your device. I don't reboot my iPhone very often, but need to keep in mind though, the jailbroken iPhone is NOT as stable. I'll update the blog once the "untethered" jailbreak is available.

Cloud computing? The internet is down!

Time Warner internet service has been down since 5:30pm pacific from Los Angeles to San Diego, maybe also other areas. Now try to cloud computing, :-). The big assumption for cloud compuinh is that the internet connection is as reliable as electrcity, but currently it is not! Thank god I still have my iPhone with me so I can blog this.

How to re-create the Show desktop icon on the Quick Launch toolbar in Windows XP

I didn't think this would be this involving or hard as the task is so simple, but apparently if you can't find that "Show Desktop" file, you need to re-create it.

To re-create the Show desktop icon yourself, follow these steps:

Click Start, click Run, type notepad in the Open box, and then click OK.
Carefully copy and then paste the following text into the Notepad window:
[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop
On the File menu, click Save As, and then save the file to your desktop as 'Show desktop.scf'. The Show desktop icon is created on your desktop.
Click and then drag the Show desktop icon to your Quick Launch toolbar."

(From Microsoft support site)

Windows 7 is much better, you can just Ctrl-Tab to find the desktop

Shattered iPhone 4 screen

I accidently dropped my iphone 4 on the sidewalk, actually, my son did. The upper right corner shattered (I’ve dropped my iphone 3G so many time, nothing happened, both are with cases). After searching on the internet, someone had cracked screen, either from dropping or something else got their iPhone replaced with no charge! So I decided to try my luck at the applet store with geeks. After they examined the screen, I guess they were trying to see if the cracks is like a spider web originated from a corner, or just random cracks, in latter case, they may replace the phone for free (but you have to try), they informed me that I’d need to pay $200 for a replacement. then I snapped: “Screw you, screw all of you, I’m spending another $200 on this phone!”, well, that was all in my head. I packed my phone and left.

The take home lesson was: warranty was void, now, even if I can live with a crack screen phone, no free repair or replacement if other parts of the phone stops working. In hinder sight,  what I should have done was, first try to find a 3rd party service provider to replace my screen (“Genius” at apple store said this would void the warranty, but they can’t tell, trust me, they are not real Geniuses), WITHOUT reporting my phone to Apple, so they don’t know, and just abuse all the button on my phone, and hope for one of button stops working and ask for replacement.

Further reading: With Antennagate over, is Glassgate next for the iPhone 4?

What do you use Twitter for?

I still don’t quite get Twitter, and how do people use it. I do have a twitter account, I tweet once in a while, and am following a handful of interesting people. I happened to follow guys who tweets quite a bit,  and usually find myself drowned in the sea of tweets.

For businesses and celebrities, the “followed by number” can only be a popularity statement, but there is no way for a business or a celebrity to reach to their customers or fans via twitter, who’s gonna go through all those tweets? We now live in a texting world, maybe there are people who need to tweet every 2 seconds. Not for me though, I don’t need a real time web, or a social media solution, I need a “near real time” solution, I tweet to keep a mini journal of what I’ve been doing, and where I’ve dined, etc., I don’t really need to do this “real time”, twitter won’t allow you to edit your tweet, I guess that beats the purpose. I like Yelp’s check-in feature, I can use it to keep track of my boring life.

Twitter is a record keeper for me, if they keep it closed from google searches, only real use of it would be a real time web repository, which may have some commercial value, but not too much. I just envision an app that keeps track of where I've been for a period of time, or a trip to a theme park, collects my location data at an interval in the background, and integrate with map data to figure out if I’m in a bar or a coffee shop, and most importantly, keep the data private! Maybe I’ll write it, I’m here to just claim the idea first.

Update: Twitter is NOT a Social Network, Says Twitter Exec