Introduction

At the University we have been introduced into transforming XML to (X)HTML using XSLT. As i found this quite interesting i started to write a small Itunes to HTML converter, which is finished now. Of course there are still some bugs left, but it works quite well for me.
The output may look like this: Converter Example

Usage

Simply download the Zip-File which you find at the bottom and unzip it into a folder of your choice. Then start up a console, whether it is a windows or Linux console should not matter though i have only tested using windows.
Locate the directory you unzipped into and change into it. Now you have to type the right syntax, which is:

java -jar ItunesXMLConverter.jar pathToITunesXml outputFolder name

This means for instance:

java -jar ItunesXMLConverter.jar itunes.xml c:\itunesexport Andi

In this example “itunes.xml” is the Itunes Database, “c:\itunesexport” the Export Path and “Andi” the name of die Library Owner.

It is a good idea to copy the Itunes Database in a separate Folder and remove the whitespaces. You find the Itunes Database in your “Own Music/Itunes” Folder.
If you run into any problems please drop me a message.

Technical Background and adaption

The program uses some external libraries:

• Jdom, for parsing the Itunes XML und generating an XML
• a Java ID3 Library, for reading out the cover art from the Mp3 Files
• Apache Xalan for transforming the XML to HTML

As XSLT is used to transform to (X)HTML it is very easy to adapt the output to your own needs. All you need to do is edit two files, xslt.xsl and style.css. Of course you also need a tool to test the transformation. For testing it, i uploaded a small Example XML, which should be quite helpful:
songlib.xml If you need more info on XSTL you use your friend google

Download

itunesconverter.zip

Today the first version of our Uno Card game which we created at university has been released on Sourceforge.

Download it here:
UNO Card Game

This a quite interesting speech of Harold Print, who received the Nobel Price in Literature this year.

Harold Printers Nobel Lecture

This is my current CV.
For further Question do not hesistate to contact me.

CV of Andreas Franz

Introduction

Today I read the transcript of Steve Jobs’ Commencement Speech at Stanford University which he held on June 12, 2005. I found this speech both amazing and inspirational as it highlights and underscores the major factors behind the successes and failures of the Chief Executive Officer of Apple and Pixar encountered in his life so far.

The Speech and his Life

Steve Jobs split his speech in three basic stories dealing with the ups and downs during his personal and professional life. The interesting thing is that he, as most of us, had a lot of hurdles to master in life. However, he continued to learn from each and every hurdle as he progressed from student life to the entrepreneurial period.

connecting the dots

So his downs in live basically started from birth on, he has been adopted, because his biological mother wanted him to go to college. The pair that adopted him eventually sent him to college. Unfortunately, he dropped out of it after six months, as this enabled him to participate in the courses that really interested him such as calligraphy. At the age of 20, he co-founded Apple Computer with Steve Wozniak in his parents’ garage and within ten years the company has grown into a USD 2 billion company with more than 4000 employees.

about love and loss

Just around that time, when Apple had released their first Macintosh computer has experienced the worst thing an entrepreneur can encounter: he was fired from his very own company. Jobs was convinced that giving up was not an option for him. So he founded a technology company called NeXT and bought a controlling stake in Pixar, the computer division of Lucasfilm.

Pixar created the first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, which was a major technological milestone in filmmaking and practically created a new genre out of the blue: the computer animated movie.

NeXT was bought by Apple and the technology developed at NeXT, according to Jobs, is at the heart of Apples current renaissance. So Jobs had returned to Apple and anything seemed to turn out well in the end.

about death

About a year ago, Jobs was diagnosed with cancer, a tumor on his pancreas. The doctors told him, that his type of cancer was incurable and his life expectancy is somewhere in between three and six months. Jobs, in other words, was told to say good bye to his loved ones. On the same day he had a biopsy and it turned out that he had a very rare form of cancer which is curable by a surgery. Jobs is of the opinion that death is one of the best movitational forces. According to the principle ” If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right. ” , he developed his own philosophy of implementing the ‘eternal force of death’ into his daily life. Instead of focusing on the negative aspects of death, he utilizes the positive aspects…

Personal Opinion

When a friend of me notified me about the speech I firmly believed that yet another boring talk was about to follow. However, I was pleasantly surprised to encounter a man talking not only about his personal success story but as well mentioning the unplesant factors that shaped his life. I would even go as far as to proclaim this speech to be the most inspirational story I have ever listened to. The motivational aspect of sentences such as “You got to find what you love” or “Stay hungry. Stay foolish” is already very high. But given that this talk was held in front hundreds of Stanford University graduates the words of Steve Jobs could possibly motivate the next generation of technology-loving entrepreneurs to create something unique and valuable to mankind.

Sources

Stanford News
audio file of the speech