Book Review #30

Book #30 Java for Dummies
Aaron E. Walsh

This book is a blotch in the usually good "For Dummies" series. As I keep reading this book, I keep asking, where's the Java? I don't see any. Pages, after pages, I don't see Java. I keep seeing HTML. Then it hits me. This isn't "Java for Dummies". This book is "Applet for Dummies."

That's right. This is "Java" in the loosest sense of the word. The correct title would have been "Applets" or Java application inside Web browser. So, I reread the book again, and it's rather comprehensive in that regard. There's hardly any Java at all, so you need to learn Java development separately. You know what? Usually, such book will have its own applet development section. So, maybe this book is applet design? This book has a little about everything. I can't help to think that maybe a more focused subject regarding applets design would have been better. As it is, there's not enough meat in there to go deep. Good for survey, but not enough to understand everything.

Who will benefit from this book? If you're a Java Developer who never touched applets before, this may be a good book. But I say, odds are you can do better if you keep looking.

Raspberry Pi Journal #14

Adding a Temperature Widget

Go to the bottom bar on the GUI Desktop. Hit the right mouse button, and a menu will pop up. One of the option is Add/Remove panel item. Among them is a Temperature sensor.

Select that to add it to the bar. You can move it up and down for proper placement. The temperature reading is in Celcius, and anything below 70 degree is fine. My usual temperature reading is about 54 degree.

There is an exception. When I was connecting my Kindle to it, it sometimes goes to 84 degree for a second or two. I wonder why? My guess is that there is a voltage drain that somehow causes the calibration to be off. Otherwise, no harm.