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My name is Wayne Robinson and I'm a web applications developer from Queensland, Australia. In August 2005 I discovered Ruby on Rails and instantly fell in love. From that point forward, Ruby on Rails has been my language of choice for new projects however, I still use PHP to maintain some legacy applications.

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Wednesday
14Oct2009

yUML makes UML fun?

DateWednesday, October 14, 2009 at 09:53AM

Thankfully, due to the way I work and the 'clients' I work for I have few requirements to diagramme the applications I work on. However, there is the odd occassion where I need to create documentation for less (or traditionally) technically-minded people.

This usually results in me pulling out OmniGraffle or Visio and fighting with GUI-based design tools for presentation that really just represents fairly simple relationships, but I think I've found an answer.

yUML is a UML digramming tool that uses a simple, text-base DSL to describe your diagrammes, rather than fighting with mice and grids to get everything to fit together nicely.

For example, the below diagramme is generated with this very simple code:

[User]-(Login)
[User]-(Logout) 
(Login)<(Reminder) 
(Login)>(Captcha)

If you want a simple, command line script to generate these images, check out the yUML Me Gem (although you will have to install Gemcutter first).

yUML can also make class and activity diagrammes, so check it out today.

AuthorWayne Robinson | CommentPost a Comment |
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Friday
14Aug2009

Xero is greater than the rest

DateFriday, August 14, 2009 at 04:28PM

Well, that title definitely sounds like a marketing introduction but I swear, I have no affiliation with Xero apart from thinking that they have some of the best SME accounting software that I've come across.

Being web-based, getting transaction feeds directly from banks, having multi-currency support, simple expense claims, fixed-asset register and most importantly, an API for developers; Xero is highly integrated and, most importantly (and rarely), is actually fun to use.

For the last week or so I have been hacking away at the Ruby xero_gateway library project started by Tim Connor and have been having quite a lot of fun. It's great to take a break from customer-facing software for a while and developing code that will be used by other developers.

If you want to check out Xero, head on over to their main site or their developer's site.

Now, shameless plug, if you are an SME and looking to get some extra efficiency by integrating your current business processes/software with your accounting package, give me a shout and I'm sure to be able to help you get more (time/information/money) from less.

 

AuthorWayne Robinson | Comment2 Comments |
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Tuesday
28Jul2009

Word/Excel HTTP POST

DateTuesday, July 28, 2009 at 02:32PM

A little essoteric, but I recently needed to post some merge fields on a Word application form to a server to save on rekeying when the application form is completed.

Thankfully, VBA in Word can utilise any of the built-in Windows libraries and therefore the above can be easily accomplished using the MSXML2 library.

Some sample code for posting data to a HTTP server in VBA:

Private Sub PostData()

  Set http = CreateObject("MSXML2.ServerXMLHTTP")
  http.Open "POST", "http://mycompany.com/url/path", False
  http.setRequestHeader "Content-Type", "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"
  http.Send "field1=a&field2=b"

  MsgBox http.responseText

End Sub

 

AuthorWayne Robinson | CommentPost a Comment |
Thursday
16Jul2009

QuickBooks and Terminal Services

DateThursday, July 16, 2009 at 02:52PM

I couldn't find anything on the Quicken (Australia) website about which version of QuickBooks was necessary to be able to use it via Windows Terminal Services so, after waiting 10 minutes on-hold to ask a simple question, here's what I found out.

QuickBooks Premier and above can be installed on Windows Terminal Services.

If ugprading from another QuickBooks version (e.g. Plus), then you get 5 x user licenses (current upgrade price is around AUD$845.00).

If buying new, only 3 of the licenses are enabled and the cost is about AUD$1,449.00

Hope this helps out someone else in the future.

AuthorWayne Robinson | CommentPost a Comment |
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Thursday
10Jul2008

Vodafone Australia's iPhone Plans

DateThursday, July 10, 2008 at 03:44PM

Well, it seems the Vodafone Australia has just released its iPhone plans and surprisingly, they are even more expensive than Optus' plans.

Starting at $69 per month (plus $189 for the 8GB or $309 for the 16GB iPhone), you get just 250MB of monthly data. To get 1GB of monthly data, you need to spring for the $169 per month plan which, on the plus side, gets you a 16GB iPhone for free.

Considering Vodafone were the first Australian carrier to offer a 5GB modem plan for just $39 per month, this is very disappointing.

Oh well, seems like we only have Telstra's plans left to see. At least Telstra have committed to free wireless at all their hotspots (most McDonalds and Starbucks locations).

AuthorWayne Robinson | CommentPost a Comment |
Tuesday
08Jul2008

Updated AllMyFunds Website

DateTuesday, July 8, 2008 at 11:14PM

After much feedback from our clients, partners and the community about our original website, we've made some updates.

So, come on over and check out the new, bigger, better and faster AllMyFunds website and see how it is never too early to ensure you can live a comfortable retirement or prevent the Greedy Pig from eating up your superannuation.

AuthorWayne Robinson | CommentPost a Comment |
Tuesday
05Feb2008

Farewell AFK Café

DateTuesday, February 5, 2008 at 06:20PM

AFK Cafe, the first café created for Geeks has shut its doors today.

AFK combined great food, a relaxed atmosphere and gaming PCs to create a place where geeks could be themselves located in Woolloongabba, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

This has been a regular place where me and many of my friends would spend our time on a regular basis and I'm very sad to see it go.

Unfortunately, cashflow issues have affected this fledgling (less than 12 months old) business. Whilst the café appeared to be increasing it's numbers week-by-week, it still didn't get to the point to get above it's 'cash burn' rate.

I wish Jason & Adell every happiness in the future. I hope we will all keep in touch.

Their media release can be read below:

It is my sad duty to inform you that, as of 3pm today, afk cafe (an internet cafe in Woolloongabba, Brisbane) is closed for good. For those of you who had organised events here (especially the Blood Bowl League and the Board Game group) or just like to hang out here, we're very sorry. It was a combination of financial and workload pressure that forced this closure, and while it may seem sudden it has been an option for a while. It is not a decision that has been made lightly.

All those involved with the running of afk wish to extend a very grateful thank you to everyone who has offered their help and support while we've been open. Special thanks are due to our members and regulars, without whom we could not have made it this far.

The money we have raised for Child's Play will still go towards gaming equipment for the Mater Children's Hospital, and we will let you know the results of that effort when it's wrapped up.

We will be keeping the Livejournal community and Facebook group open for the next week or two for those who want to comment on or discuss the closure.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=4988314698
http://community.livejournal.com/afk_cafe/

AuthorWayne Robinson | Comment1 Comment |
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