On the mark

20.12.2004
Von Mark Hall

Tool targets Web app coders . . .

. . . who are juggling non-Java components in the pure Java world of Eclipse, the popular open-source development framework. The NitroX 2.0 plug-in from M7 Corp. in Cupertino, Calif., lets Eclipse users manage Java code as well as the non-Java components that are common in Web-based programs, such as HTML code. Carlos Chang, a senior product manager at M7, claims that the upgraded version of NitroX is better for debugging JavaServer Pages (JSP) than Eclipse is by itself. "Eclipse can"t work with JSP pages because they"re not pure Java," he says. Chang points out that Web applications are much more complex than pure J2EE programs, and he contends that managing dependencies among JSPs, configuration files, HTML code and many more Web-specific elements is a burden for software developers. NitroX 2.0 can scan all of a Web application"s code, then map the dependencies of each component and point a developer to the exact lines of code that create the dependencies. In addition, the tool"s WYSIWYG editor supports multiple languages; for example, you can see how localizing Web pages can affect their layout. Chang notes that converting text originally written in English to German can lengthen a page by 20 percent. The upgraded NitroX software starts at $299 and is due to ship next week.

Tiltable LCD monitor flips image. . .

. . . when it"s turned over. That"s the clever bit of technology in a pair of 17- and 19-in. LCD panels that LG Electronics U.S.A. Inc. will introduce next month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The displays are attached to a pedestal that allows them to be flipped over to face in the opposite direction. According to Chris Neff, director of marketing at the Englewood Cliffs, N.J.-based division of LG Electronics Inc., a user can open a spreadsheet or a Word document on his PC and then flip the monitor to show the information to someone sitting on the other side of a conference-room table. The image on the screen will automatically right itself so it can be viewed properly, Neff says. However, LG doesn"t expect the flipping capability to be the main attraction for users. "It"s the razor sharpness of the display that wins folks over," Neff says. LG"s proprietary graphics chip automatically adjusts color depth, reducing pixel image-adjustment response time to a speedy 12 milliseconds. Pricing will start at under US$450, which is pricier than CRTs are, to be sure. But, Neff points out, "this is what you stare at all day. It should be the most important technology you get."

On the other hand, John Torrey argues that you need to treat your eyes better than merely giving them a good display. Torrey, CEO of Prio Corp. in Beaverton, Ore., says users should test how their eyes work with specific computer monitors to avoid productivity-draining eyestrain. He wonders why so many companies send in ergonomic experts to adjust employees" workstation areas but seldom test how a person"s eyes perform while viewing a computer display. That"s probably because there are so many eyes to evaluate. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health estimates that 100 million pairs of them spend at least four hours a day in front of monitors. That results in some problems. The American Optometric Association says as many as 75 percent of end users suffer from computer vision syndrome, which can include classic eyestrain symptoms like blurred distance vision and burning eyes as well as neck and back pain from adjusting your sitting position to compensate for seeing the screen poorly. Torrey says the biggest problem is that no matter how high a monitor"s resolution is, it doesn"t deliver the edge detection necessary for the human eye to focus on objects within 10 feet. That means the eye is constantly readjusting itself to see the edge of the text on a computer display, he says. Torrey claims that his company"s Prio Vision Tester, available at many eye clinics and optometrists" offices, can determine how your vision can be corrected for computer work. You should, um, look into it for your IT staffers.