BlogBridge Beta, part deux

I shoulda known…

There's cross-platform and then there's cross-platform.

A week later, about 20 testers later, we've done 2 more sub-releases (up to 0.5.2 now) to shake out various platformy problems. It's one thing to get it to run and another thing to get it to run right.

**Java WebStart:No picnic! ** While the promise is great, it doesn't live up to it. And to think that this has been a feature of Java for years and years (I think 4) and it still is full of problems. Still the notion that in one fell swoop we get intallation and on-the-fly updating is pretty powerful, so we'll just keep on struggling with it.

Threads aint Threads One area of Java where cross-platform is not so cross is in Threads. When it comes to the intricate timing, interaction, and detailed ordering of things, Threads on Windows can be totally different from Threads on Linux. The effect? A solid performer on one platform turns into a deadlock on the other. Fix the bug on the other and the one breaks. Fun.

Anyway, live and learn. I am still a believer! I think we can consider the first early beta up and running, so we are returning to our cave to work on features. As usual, if you want to be a beta tester, please send email to beta@blogbridge.com and we'll see if we can fit you in.