Friday, July 18, 2014

Netbeans on Ubuntu = Requires an Advanced Computer Science Degree

I literally spend hours (about three) trying to get Netbeans 7.3 installed on Ubuntu 12.04. This is not a fun process. Netbeans crapped out while displaying "Loading cached objects" for me, after it looked like it installed perfectly using the Oracle JDK. The solution I found was:
  1. Actually, fully, installed OpenJDK. The mistake I was making here is that Ubuntu LOOKED like it installed OpenJDK, but it didn't actually finish the installation until I ran: 

     sudo apt-get install openjdk-7-jdk
  1. Install Netbeans, using the OpenJDK installed in step #1. 

I have no idea WHY the Oracle JDK failed Netbeans, but it seems like this is a fairly common problem. Hopefully this post will help other people avoid the same dark fate as my lost three hours. 


Thursday, July 10, 2014

Bandojo on GreenLight

I've been working with the startup Bandojo for the past few months. Most of my involvement up to this point has almost entirely been on getting our C/C++ program to build on Windows, and now I'm doing more web development for them, and (sort of) managing an intern that is also into web development. The intern (David Heyer) suggested we submit to Steam. Since no one at Bandojo really knew what Steam was, he explained it to us, and it sounded like a great idea. So I submitted our software to Steam.

Steam sounds like a very, very cool software distribution platform. Basically, they handle all the money, all the copy protection, upgrades, and a bunch of reporting for you. They mostly sell games, but also sell other pieces of software (like our music creation application.) Getting into their store sounds like a bit of a dog and pony show though (i.e. you need to win a popularity contest before they consider you.) Since I have never been through this dog and pony show before, I have no idea how (if?) it will end.

So, if you feel like clicking "Yes" (I would buy this game if it were on Steam) then check out this link. Or send me an email if you've been through the Steam cleaner before and have any tips.

Bandojo