Older blog entries for Ausmosis (starting at number 12)

Wow, just when I thought things couldn't get any better, I'm now part of a great team that is currently doing some bleeding edge stuff in terms of web development.

What we have managed to do in the Northern Territory of Australia is to get mainframe applications such as IJIS (integrated justice information system) converted to a web interface which basically means no more terminal screens!

Ok maybe this isn't such a new idea, but getting this to work using a combination of IBM's Visual Age Generator (VAG), Websphere and Macromedia's Ultra Dev, does make it quite unique. Not to mention most of the web design has been created using a combination of Java, Java-script and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).

Now, whats a little different and apparently quite bleeding edge by IBM's observations, is the fact that the mainframe still runs as the backend but is now transparent to the users as they do all their work via a web browser interface.

IBM visited the N.T. and were very impressed with the work that has already been undertaken. Special notice must be given to Julius Marbella and Joanne Napier for their current and continuos efforts thus far and helping to place the N.T. on the world map.

I am very honoured to be part of this team as IBM have gone back to the US and made special mention about what is happening here in the N.T. There has also been many calls and emails from around the world by programmers and web designers querying how we have acheived this.

In my gov agency, myself and Angelito Lontoc have already created a working web diary that has all the functionality of the diary system available on the mainframe. When I get time I will post some screen shots. It's still currently in development but is looking very promising indeed.

Ausmosis

Well, I haven't written anything for a while so I thought I'd better make some kind of an effort. Of course there is a hidden agenda behind my posting this diary entry today.

1. I have some new art work on my site which you can take a look at by clicking [here].

2. Work has commenced on the Magistrate Court website and I anticipate that it should be up by the end of August.

3. Got me a grouse new chair to sit on while I'm at my computer at home. It's all leather, swivels, has a high back and rocks back and forth so that I can go to sleep hehe....All I need now is a bar fridge and I'll bet set for life.

4. I ended up buying a new computer whilst on holidays in March. I bought a Gateway P3 850 which boots into either ME or RedHat 7.1. The whole system cost me only $2000aus which I though was quite reasonable at the time.

Other than that, nothing else is new so I think I'll just nickoff for tonight and who knows, maybe if I get some time I'll post another diary entry again soon! don't hold your breath though : )

Ausmosis

Sat my RHCE300 (Red Hat Certified Engineers) course a couple of weeks ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. The course was one of the best courses I have ever undertaken, and the lecturer (Peter Davies) was simply outstanding. I will be sitting for my exam in April at a cost of $900... Not Cheap!! but I figure this will hopefully open a window of opportunity for me therefore it will be worth every cent.

So what else has happened?

Hoorah! The Northern Territory Supreme Court web site has officially been launched! To have a gander at it, click the following link;

http://www.nt.gov.au/ntsc/

I am pleased to say that all went well during the launch, and I recieved a lot of praise for the work that went into developing the site. Positive comments were recieved by not only the judiciary staff, but also from the legal profession and the general public.

When things go right it always makes things seem worth the time and effort. I think I'll have a few drinks this weekend!! *grin*

Ausmosis

Well its not long to go before the Supreme Court website is launched. Next Wednesday infact!

What I would like is for some people to take a look at the beta version of the [site] and make any suggestions that could and would improve it. Please bear in mind that I had to be quite conservative with this site when it came to graphics. The Judges did not want this site to have bells and whistles. On many occasions I was asked to tone it down a little and even remove some of the images created *sigh*. To best view the site, use I.E. or Netscape in Windows or if you are using Linux, use Galeon or Mozilla. Don't waste your time looking at it with Netscape because the borders around the menus will be out of alignment which is caused by the font issue within Netscape for Linux. I haven't tried it with Netscape 6, so it may be ok. The Virtual Tour will need a java-enabled browser.

Anyway, the main thing is, I hope it's easy to navigate and find what you are looking for. It is aimed for the general public more so than for solicitors or staff, and since most of you probaby have little or no knowledge of the Court system, I would appreciate some feedback from you. You can use the feedback form on the site (which I will recieve) or send me an email:

franck.alcidi@nt.gov.au

Thanks and hope to read some comments soon.

Ausmosis

Just a quick update on the Supreme Court Website. It's now in beta stage and a launch date has been set for 31 January 2001. The date coincides with the opening of legal year. It's envisaged that many Lawyers, Judges, Magistrates and the media will be present for the website launch. I hope it all goes well :)

I have managed to get hold of 4 plasma screens plus 4 LCD screens on loan just for the launch. A huge thank you to Rod Louey-Gung from Integrated Media, firstly for securing the equipment, and secondly for providing it free of charge.

Another huge thank you must go out to the people who have supported me for the last few months whilst I was developing the site. Those people are as follows:

Kevin McShanag
Lyn McDade

Thanks!

Ausmosis

Ok, I messed around with a new scanner I just purchased from Harvey Normans and can finally apply smooth edges (anti-aliasing) to my sketches. I redid my colour GNU -v- Bill Gates sketch. To have a look at it click the link in my previous diary entry below.

It makes a heck of a difference using this new scanner and anti-aliasing on the pics. Thank's to [Sh] for his constructive criticism ;-) All my colour pics should look a whole lot better from now on.

By the way, the scanner I bought is a Canon CanoScan N650U which only cost $199. Not bad if you ask me, and it works very well, except that it doesn't work in Linux (yet). I scan in Windows and then do my work in Linux using GIMP.

Ok I better get back to some drawing. I promised someone I would do a woodcut design for the GNU foundation this weekend.

Ausmosis

I got bored tonight so I did up a quick sketch of GNU -v- Bill Gates :-)

Click [here] to view the pic.

I've been told I should use some anti-aliasing on my pics and I know I should. I just can't figure out how to smooth the edges out after the image has been scanned to a tiff format. Unfortunately it's not my scanner and it's quite old, so I don't know if you can apply antialiasing to a scanned image in GIMP. I have tried using one of the selection tools and when I get the properties up for it, the antialiasing is already checked...hmmm... If anyone can help me on this it would be great!

Ausmosis

Ok folks, just a quick update. I uploaded Hungry Tazz like I said I would in yesterday's diary entry. Go take a look at him. I think he turned out great. Click [here].

The more I use GIMP the more I like it....... I'm a true convert now. My next drawing will be one of Tom & Jerry... Sound good?? I reckon so :-)

Ausmosis