Scaling sprite image

If you've always wanted, just like me, a way to scale images used in CSS sprites: there's a way [1]. It essentially comes down to a clever overlaying of a mask on an image: 1. a div with overflow:hidden and of a fixed size 2. an img pointing to the sprite is placed inside the … Continue reading Scaling sprite image →

Pidgin having trouble with MSN certificate – and how to fix

I noticed recently that the Pidgin 2.7.5 messenger [1] had problems connecting to MSN with a certificate error about omega.contacts.msn.com. Fortunately I'm neither the first to have that problem, nor to find a solution [2]. MSN apparently replaced their certificate, which now needs to be updated with Pidgin. 1. point your browser to https://omega.contacts.msn.com/ 2. … Continue reading Pidgin having trouble with MSN certificate – and how to fix →

ID trouble with multiple Hibernate entities on the same table

Just a while ago I ran into a case where Hibernate would auto generate a wrong database schema when two entities were mapped on the same table. The good news: it's my fault and not a bug. The better news: here's an account of how to avoid it. Let's assume a mutable entity A mapped … Continue reading ID trouble with multiple Hibernate entities on the same table →

A counterintuitive relation between CPU and memory usage

Continuing my tests on low-end server environments, I recently set up a stress test of a load balanced tomcat webapp. Part of that tests consist in reducing the available memory for the webapp (JVM -Xmx switch) and see how low it could go before negatively affecting performance. It's common knowledge that once available memory runs … Continue reading A counterintuitive relation between CPU and memory usage →

Fixing screen brightness on a Samsung R60 and Ubuntu 10.04

Finally the day came when all the clean installs in the world will not make Vista any faster on my old Samsung R60 (1.5 Ghz Dualcore), so I figured it's time for a Linux distro. Apart from high power consumption (it's a known bug [1]) nearly everything worked as expected, left two things: I wasn't … Continue reading Fixing screen brightness on a Samsung R60 and Ubuntu 10.04 →