a peek into my trashVin....

Uncluttering Your Chrome Toolbar

2011-06-24T22:32:00.000-07:00

Chrome is becoming my choice of browser, not only that its fast and lightweight, the integration of a Chrome App Store is adding excitement to the thing. But it is not easy when you got only 1 toolbar to work with, as you add more and more extensions the search bar gets eaten up. Chrome toolbar supports hiding of extensions and re-ordering to tidy up your toolbar.

To hide the other extensions, dragging the extension area towards the right end of the browser will automatically hide the rightmost buttons.

All hidden extensions can be shown by clicking on the double arrow button.

Rearranging is also a breeze, drag extension icons around to mix them up based on your preference.

Why I Don't Buy the Idea of Shuffling

2011-06-14T20:37:00.000-07:00

The advent of the MP3 format made music more portable. Add the technology to support it, you have a legion of earphone/headphone addicts roaming everywhere. Back to the days of cassette tapes, Sonys' Walkman seems to be the in-thing. Then came the mini-CD players then Steve Jobs. Everybody else knows what MP3 is. Everywhere you see people sporting their own portable MP3/music players.

The MP3 player revolution introduced us to the whole new concept of playlists. Yes, with the advent of the technology , people were given the freedom to build their own playlist and not just restricted pre-arranged songs that came along with cassette tapes and CD's. Now you can choose your own favorite songs from different artist and albums and play it over and over again without the discomfort of bringing dozens of junk CD's or tapes.

After playlist, came an even more enticing feature, shuffles. This is the lazy way of generating a random playlist from your music collection. Just dump all your music into the player, shuffle it all or do some filtering based on the genre or artist name. That's easy non stop music for you.

Honestly, I sometimes create my on playlist. Newer music players even allow you to create your playlist on the fly. I , during my laziest moment, try also to shuffle. But the whole idea of shuffling every time seems to not fit my listening preference. A bit of history will tell that I grew up during the heydays of the cassette tapes. The first album that I ever bought was Greendays' Dookie! From there, the collection grew and grew. I was used to serially listening to the whole album. No skipping, no fast forwards and rewinds, because mechanically they could damage the tape. Then came the CD's. My style did not change, I refrained from fast forwards and rewinds, I religiously listened to every song on a CD.

The pattern remained constant. When internet became the ocean of free pirated music, i never settled on downloading 1 song at a time. I was not even hooked to Napster, LimeWire and other P2P software that came. I was not interested to songs, I was more interested with the whole album. So there I was downloading music 1 album of a time. Torrent indeed became my best friend. Thus, I dont have a collection of randomly selected songs from different artist from different albums. I have a collection of songs arranged by album and by artist :)

Given the volume of MP3s that I keep, why did I not fall to the amazing idea of shuffling? Shuffling does not fit my listening style. While it is true that random music playing in your ear eliminates monotony, it limits the time frame alloted for a listener to better appreciate the artists' musicality. You cant gauge an artists' potential based on a single billboard hit. The idea of "one hit wonders" reflects this concept. Sometimes, a single song sells like hotcakes for some other reasons beside a good lyrics and a melody. There are also artist that can come up with an album worth of good music and, sometimes, some of the best songs are not those that were released for airplays. Thats the beauty of listening to the entire album, we discover things that others would not even know. There are surprises that are kept in between the tracks that is always waiting to be discovered. Here are two concepts that I think can help others reconsider the beauty of not shuffling :

Some musicians are also great poets and great story tellers. The song that they release for airplay may just be a small part of a bigger story that goes along with the album. Each track can become a chapter of a story , when read in random order can be confusing but when arranged chronologically would offer a very great story. Some albums were created with this concept and the best way to experience it is to listen to the whole of it in the manner how the artists have arranged them. Beatles were good at this concept.
An album can be a well planned recipe. Each song contributing to its envisioned overall taste. To appreciate the whole piece, you have to listen to the whole album and enjoy the different tracks mixing subconsciously in your head resulting in an sublime dose of wonderful music.

Weird as it seems, that is just me. Welcome to my world!

Blogger Now Supports Mobile Template

2011-06-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

With the market for mobile devices increase, the need to access and view information on the web on formats that suit mobile devices is a must. I remember Wordpress already supported this format a year back and I ended up saying to myself, I wish Blogger would do the same. It turned out that I was not just looking enough, this feature existed way back December 17, 2010. I was playing around in my Ubuntu box and logged in to my blogger account when a pop up box asked me if I want to turn on mobile templates, that made blogger cooler than yesterday.

The setting is at the Settings tab under the Email & Mobile settings. You simply turn it on. Assuming you did not make any drastic changes on your template to mess it up in mobile mode, you would not encounter any error.

Turn on the mobile template.

The preview.

I guess I have to get moving and update all my blogs to support mobile format.

Using Amazon Kindle as a Map Repository

2011-05-01T22:51:00.000-07:00

Here are few simple ways to make your Amazon Kindle more useful by using it as a Map Repository during your travel. A more convenient way that carrying printed maps on your bag :) This assumes that your Kindle cannot connect to 3G network and no Wi-Fi signal is around to make google map accessible.

What do you need ?

Amazon Kindle.
PDF Printer - to convert the google map to PDF format. You can try usiong PrimoPDF , it is free!
A compass, in case you are not sure where north, east, south, west is :)
An eyeglass! If you have a poor eyesight.

Steps :

Go to Google Map.
Search for the direction.
Click Print.
Configure the Print Out

Select Text Only, if you want the instruction in text format only.
Select Maps, if you want to include small maps in every driving intructions
Select Street View, if you want to have an idea how the location looks like. The image maybe outdated.
Check the "Include large map" to have the map shown in the first page.

Print the Map to PDF.
Save the PDF file in your Amazon Kindle.

Kindle displaying the map

Kindle showing the direction with map.

It is not easy when you are new to a place, especially if it is outside your own country. You may not know someone, you are unfamiliar with the place, your mobile phone is useless and all anxieties that comes with it. Getting around the area would have been easier if public transport is as available as jeepneys back in the Philippines, unluckily in our case , we have to drive our way around. Cool! we got a car, only if we know how to go to places. Well, GPS can solve it, unfortunately for us, we don't have it either. The solution, plan your trips and use google map!

this year

2011-01-18T06:30:00.000-08:00

.. i will learn new things, perhaps play a new instrument or go back to school.
.. i will find beauty on the open source community.
.. i will read more books and listen to more music.
.. i will pen more poems and possibly write more songs.
.. i will go for new distances and discover new terrains.
.. i will continue to pile running miles to stay fit and healthy.
.. i will strive to be free and make myself available to unknown future.
.. i will go out of my shell more often and be socially more open.

.. i will continue to grow and go with the changes of time.
.. i will be more patient and hopeful to things that may not even be possible.
.. i will be a better son, brother and more importantly a better father.
.. i will be closer with the great beyond.

.. i will continue to repair , refactor and upgrade myself to become a better version of me.

Farewell NU107.5

2010-11-07T07:44:00.000-08:00

As I write this blog, millions of Filipino rock fanatics may have already known what happens after 12:00 midnight tonight. The only surviving station that caters to the rock genre will, sadly, be closing down and permanently signing off tonight. The news came to late to enjoy every second of what is left. The sad news came to me the last week of October. Being a follower of the station, I never believed it at first. But online resources would say the station really is nearing its demise. With several minutes to go, it will be dead air.

NU has been one of the greatest influence to whatever musical inclination I have right now. I grew up in a province where there exist around 3 to 5 FM stations playing mostly sell out songs (pop) . High school was the start of my musical journey. Started with the slow rock genre (e.g. Guns and Roses , Bon Jovi) and shifted to heavy metal genre then eventually to grunge and pinoy alternative. Internet was not yet a source for any music resources before. We have to invest on buying cassette tapes and song hits to keep up on whats hot and not in the music scene. I never had the chance to listen to NU during High School, but reading some articles and promotional ads made me think it was indeed the FM station that I’m missing all those years. Unfortunately, aside from some short stint in the metro where I get to listen to it, it has to wait more than 10 years more before I finally got the luxury to listen to it anytime I wanted to. But I guess, the signing off is too early to make up for the lost years.

NU, despite of all the unending changes that came in the music industry, remained true to its name as the only station that rocks the nation. There was no let ups to move to a more mainstream pop station. But this may spelled the doom for the business. And as Kurt Cobain will say, its better to burn out than to fade away! Nobody wants to hear NU playing some stupid Lady Gaga songs ayt!

Aside from giving the listeners a never ending dose of rock songs from all generations, one of the things that made it stand out is the attitude it tries to project. Listening to their talk shows will give you an idea that they are not mediocre as other stations are. They handle issues or topics that others may not want to talk about. NU was different and it will always be.

The best legacy that NU can leave is its commitment to help upcoming talented bands to break into the music industry. Without NU, the pinoy alternative scene in the 90s would not have been that grand! Without NU, I don’t think songs from other pinoy bands would have made it to radio. Think of Razorback, Wolfgang, Slapshock, Queso, Itchyworms and all the underground bands that came by. NU was the longest running FM station that serves as the breeding ground of pinoy rock and no other station came close to it.

As the curtain closes down on its era, let us hope that its legacy will survive. FM stations come and go but rock music will never fade. I hope all pinoy bands continue to make music and we will continue to support you. Remember, it was rock music that created NU and kept it alive for 23 long rocking years. Till a new rock station comes to view, NU 107.5 will remain to be the only station that rocked the nation. Rock on !

Beware of Giant Burgers

2010-07-11T04:00:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we had a lunch out at Burger Avenue at The Fort. This joint is "somewhat" famous for its Ridiculous Burger Challenge promo. The challenge involves finishing up a ridiculous burger in less than 5 minutes. Its a 3 layer burger waiting to be eaten in less than 5 minutes. This is, however, small compared to the Windows 7 whopper that Burger King promoted in line with Windows 7 release. None of us, by the way, did the challenge ,we had our own reasons or shall I say excuse.

Good thing no one tried the challenge. In a news from ABC5, a dentist in Taiwan warns everyone on eating super size burgers. The report mentioned about the possibility of injury on the jaw. This, however, assumed that you are to gape over the whole burger. Read the whole story HERE.

BlogWrite Lite vs BlogSpace

2010-07-11T03:31:00.000-07:00

Bloggers often look for the best way to keep their blogs up to date in whatever way they can think of. With iPhone, iPod and iPads coming to view, I would expect that developers would jump into the wagon of building blogging apps for bloggers. I am not really a paid app fanatic, I settle for free apps that satisfies what I need. So I ended up searching iTunes for free apps that could enable blogging on my portable device. The result were not encouraging. No need to shortlist a very short list of results.

First on the list is the BlogWriter Lite. Its a simple app and very light at 1.3MB size. The installation is almost as fast as other light apps we have in the iTunes cloud. Setting up your account is a breeze. Username and password is required and there are 4 available blog type to choose from : Blogger.com, Wordpress.com, Self-host WordPress Blog, and Others. after choosing the blog type, user needs to provide the blog URL and the port number to be used. Once set, you are ready to log in. Since I am a blogger, i use blogger.com that is, logging in to your account means accessing all the blogs you have created under blogger. You must select only 1 from the list of blogs you have to continue. The screen has 4 major menus to choose from : My Blog, New Post, My Feeds, Feeds Directory. For bloggers who is not fond of reading feeds, the first two menus are for you. Unfortunately, if it is your first time to use the app, you need to refresh the list of blogs in My Blogs to enable the app to download your posts. My Blogs list your blog post, it enables the user to view and delete your post. Unfortunately, you can not view comments to your post. New Post allows the creation of a new post. The creating a new post is not as flexible as I have expected. First, the keyboard is always in portrait mode and second, it does not allow you to categorize your post. Selecting send would post/publish your blog. Yes, no spell checking is available.

BlogSpace is another free app that I am trying out to manage my blog. This is a tool targeting bloggers for Google. No set up for URLs or port numbers, just log in with your google account ID. The app displays all the available blogs you have created. To post to a particular blog, select it and you are ready to go. The app is more flexible than BlogWrite. First, it has a capability to preview your post. Second, you can insert photos and videos. Unfortunately, similar to BlogWrite, categorizing your post is not an option and the keyboard is always in portrait mode. And yes, no spell checking is available.

I am not evaluating Wordpress for the main reason that I do not have any blog hosted on Wordpress.com. Basing on my test run, I will go for Blogspace if you are a blogger user.Below are my reasons:

1. BlogSpace let me select any of my blogs in blogger. BlogWrite allows only 1, you need to delete your account and redo the registration process again to select another blog from your blogger account.

2. BlogSpace allows the insertion of image or video to your post.

3. It has preview capability.

Blogging with BlogWrite

2010-07-03T02:00:00.001-07:00

Blogging has been different since my last post. Before, I had an article about writing blog in ms word 2007, today I'm trying out blogging using blogwrite for iPhone/iPod touch. Hence, this rather short blog to start with. A more comprehensive review will follow (?).

Interesting Ubuntu Version Names

2009-05-23T08:37:00.000-07:00

After several millions of second from my last post, I'm back. Thus, this post is related to the first geeky stuff I did after coming back from my 5 months of "forced exile" in the US (stuffs that does not involve my work in the office). Once again , Im playing with my Ubuntu, and the first thing I have to do is to update it. which brought me to realizing that I have the 8.10 version and in a few months more they will be releasing the 9.10 version. New Ubuntu version always comes with a new interesting name. Read the list below and be acquainted with Ubuntus version names.

4.10 Warty Warthog
5.04 Hoary Hedgehog
5.10 Breezy Badger
6.06 Dapper Drake
6.10 Edgy Eft
7.04 Feisty Fawn
7.10 Gutsy Gibbon
8.04 Hardy Heron
8.10 Intrepid Ibex
9.04 Jaunty Jackalope
9.10 Karmic Koala

Funny, they always brand Ubuntu as the Linux for human being but their version names are always referring to animals. Maybe come version 10.10 they will name it after me , Marvin 'd Martian.

Paalam Kiko

2009-03-06T09:56:00.000-08:00

Francis "Kiko" Magalona
October 4, 1964 - March 6, 2009

salamat sa impluwensya
salamat sa ala ala
salamat sa musika

paalam Francis Magalona

isa kang malaking kawalan sa musikang pilipino

Force Shutdown on VMWare Player

2009-02-10T10:04:00.000-08:00

Here a simple tip for VMWare users. If you have set the memory allocation of your VMPlayer to be high and one day wake up with error saying it cannot start the VM because there is not enough memory on the host, here is what you can do:

1. Adjust the VMWare memory allocation to a lesser value. Closing the VMWare will not commit the changes on the memory allocation till you shutdown the VM itself. This is the problem, you cannot shutdown the VM unless you can start it.
2. To workaround this problem, go to the folder where the VM file reside and delete the .VMSS file. Open your VM , by then the memory allocation had been applied and the memory allocation problem is resolved.

Ways to Make Yourself Marketable

2009-02-04T16:47:00.000-08:00

Waiting for a large system to compile seems like forever , so instead o f wasting my time looking at every line of code my screen tries to feed into my eyes I wandered around Yahoo and found some nicely written article that I am stealing today and share it using my own twisted point of view.

The title was 8 ways to make yourself marketable, seems to be in the right frame of time when all is fearing recession. Here it goes:

* Use your name as your brand, especially in email. Don't confuse potential employers by using your maiden name on your resume and your married name in your email. And the nickname your friends find funny may not look professional.

"Manager jobs don't go to people with cute email addresses," said Marianne Adoradio, a recruiter and career counselor.

This seems like a good idea , for people who wants to create an email address and for those who wants to get rid of their funny-sometimes-weird email address. But for the lucky ones , who have remained loyal to their not so formal email address but got always the job not because of their email address but because of their skill, keep the email address man , it may be your lucky charm. Im keeping mine by the way.

Meet an employer's need. Employers "want a round peg for the round hole," said Kathryn Ullrich, a career expert and executive recruiter.

You may want to stretch yourself by trying a job you've never done before, but there's not much in that for the employer. Any time you apply for a job, make sure you can tell a story about your career that shows why you would be the best person for the job. "It's really about what the employer is looking for," Ullrich said.

Its the wrong time of the year to be adventurous, stick with your guns and get a job. It may not be advisable to shift career at this time. Make sure you got what it takes when applying for a job. Guess what? I am postponing my move to go for open source development at this time , Microsoft tool is what I know , Ill go with it till the best moment comes.

* Maintain a smart online profile. "All that stupid stuff you put on Facebook -- take it off," said Richard Phillips, owner of Advantage Career Solutions. At the same time, find industry blogs and forums and start contributing comments.

If you have time , join professional online forums , establish an active profile on the web. Sometimes employers can do a background check of what you have been doing. Personal profiles are fine, just be sure it doesnt mess your professional profile. Google your name and see what the search engine returns, if its on the first page, perhaps you have the advantage. My name passes with a flying color.

* Become active in a professional association. This means doing more than paying dues and showing up for meetings. Find a way to help: For example, perhaps you can organize expert speakers in your field to be on a panel. It will boost your resume, build you self-esteem and give you valuable connections. "You're building up relationships with people who are going to hire you," Ullrich said.

Its a great way to meet new people. I once "tried" (at least online) to be active on some professional group like PHINUG (Philippine .Net Users Group), MSDN , DevPinoy and other IT Forums but time took its toll and I became dormant. But this type of organizations do have community activities where you will personally meet and share ideas. Its a way of extending your reach to the world. I will try again , perhaps, maybe..

* Take a class or get a certificate. This is especially helpful if it teaches you a skill -- new technology that's being used in your field, for example -- that you don't already have.

It may be a masters degeree , a Ph.D. , or an industry certification. It may cost you sometimes but in the end it may benefit you. I hope I could still catch the second shot chance to Microsoft certifications promo once I get back. Id better start reviewing again ( the first one took me at least 1 month to burn candles ), perhaps, maybe ..

* Take on a new project at work. It should be "something that lets you add something new to your resume," Phillips said. "Think in terms of the resume that you're going to be writing. What do you want to have on there that isn't on there now?"

Dont be monotonous in what you are doing, if there is a chance to be part of a new and interesting project , grab it. It gives you a better option when looking for a new job. Spice up your resume ,again, just dont be too adventurous.

* Be flexible. You may not want to commute more than 10 miles, but being willing to bend a bit will open up more opportunities. It will also make you a more attractive candidate because it signals to employers that you're able to handle change.

If you think you can do it , take the chance and extend your limit. The best way to be flexible is to continue learning. Dont just stop on what you know now, because it may be obsolete tomorrow. Live like there will be no tomorrow , learn like its forever. Dont forget to share your knowledge.

Eraserheads Reunion Concert Final Set

2009-01-11T09:34:00.000-08:00

Another way to get the 2009 rock and rolling is to fill the year up with good and great concerts. So when my friend , Renzy , mentioned about another Eraserheads reunion concert , my year has just started right . Yes , the Final Set of the 083008 EHeads reunion concert is temporarily scheduled for March 2009 . Heres the rest of the report from Philstar.com

It’s confirmed. The Eraserheads concert “The Final Set” is set.
Save the date: March 7, 2009. The concert is produced by MTV and Smart with the venue yet to be announced.
For now, it’s a tossup between The Fort and SM Mall of Asia grounds.
They’re just about to sign the contract and will have their press conference on January 19.
We know you can’t wait, that’s why we’re already telling you — remember, you read it here first in Supreme!

My First Blog for 2009

2009-01-07T09:14:00.000-08:00

Im starting 2009 with a blog on foods. Since my 4 months voluntary exile in the US (hahaha), I started cooking ( full time! ) so Google is my cookbook and I am the chef ( sort of ). Yesterday , I was looking forward for another experiment on the kitchen lab (it gets messy sometimes) . What I have ? Pork belly , Chinese Okra , Squash . I was having doubts on whether the Chinese Okra is the same thing as the vegetable I know from the province , "kabatiti" . So after searching for "kabatiti" on the net , Google returned some informative links on some Ilocano Foods which made my day . Listed below are some Ilocano food worth mentioning .

Abrao or Inabrao - assorted seasonal vegetables, typically malunggay, and that quintessentially Ilocano vegetable, saluyot, boiled in a bagoong and fish broth

Ipon—tiny fish in season during the cold months

Poki-Poki (also poqui-poqui), an innocent omelet made of eggplant sautéed with garlic, onions, tomatoes, and eggs

Kabatiti (in Tagalog patola) - the vegetable served with misua

Utong - string beans

Balatong - mongo to Tagalogs, usually with malunggay or ampalaya leaves, and talong strips

Patupat - boiled glutinous rice lightly flavored with salt (in some cases, pepper as well) and wrapped in banana leaves to a triangular shape

Dudol - a mixture of ground glutinous rice flour, water and sugarcane juice, that is laboriously mixed by hand as it cooks over a slow fire—reminiscent of the procedure for making haleya

Papaitan or Sinanglao - flavored boiled beef, carabao or goat sweetmeats with the bile and the juice of partially digested grass in the animal’s intestines

Its a shortlist of what this blog is mentioning and there are plenty more when you get down north.

Because of some funny and racy names , Ilocanos usually joke about food names . So don't be offended by us when we try to ask "Miss magkano yang UTONG nyo?" or a lady would tell "Mare ang haba ng KABATITING nabili mo!" or a young man would mention "Ang sarap talaga ng POKI (pause)...POKI".

The Graphical Evolution of Geeks

2008-12-30T12:24:00.000-08:00

Here is a funny picture I got from a website (I don't remember the name , mr. image owner thank you ) , showing us where geeks came from . Enjoy and have a Happy New Year .

Open workbench an MS Project Open Source Alternative

2008-12-26T07:22:00.000-08:00

For a project manager , planning is your bread and butter . A good software tool is a complement ,as long as it doesn't come with a high price . MS Project , a Microsft product , is one of the most commonly used project management tool around . But if your just a low earning firm with little money to invest on project management tool you may not be able to afford this tool.

Open source software , as I always mention it on some of my blogs , free users of high prices from large software companies . It may not be always free , but it is cheaper . Additionally , the source code comes with it , so if you are that technically adventurous , you can always customize it to fit your need. Open Workbench aims to be a direct alternative to Microsoft Project . Open Workbench provides project planning and scheduling together with resource management. Open Workbench even offers import of Microsoft Project files - to make migration easier . So if you dont mind investing a little of your time to learn the software , in the long run , you may appreciate how much is being saved on using this software. Personally , I have tried using the software (my project management task was short lived so i was really able to jump into it deeper) and all I can say is that , the software can be easily learned to achieve the productivity you want.

Visit their website , it has a lot of information regarding the software plus they have a SAVING section on the page that shows how much can you save. Dont forget to download it and give it a test drive.

Getting an AppleID Without a Credit Card

2008-12-23T20:00:00.000-08:00

So you bought a new iPod Touch . You have heard a lot of those cool games and cool applications that runs over it . You opened up iTunes and excited to see what is in store for you . Last thing you know , Apple is asking you for a credit card number . Boom ! all that excitement is gone.

For an average iPod owner who does not have a credit card number or does not want to have one , applying for an Apple ID to get hold of those freebies and goodies Steve Jobs has to offer is a pain in the ass . But there are several ways to get over with it . One , you could buy a iTunes gift card and redeem it . This is good , if and only if , gift cards are available . Two, try jailbraking your iPod touch and risk voiding its warranty . Lastly , read on and follow the steps below. Just a note , I assume that you are responsible enough to take care of yourself . Take note that even if the software is free , a billing statement will be sent to you registered email address . And if you intend to buy one , pay for it.

1. Launch you iTunes application and go to the iTunes Store .
2. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and select the country. The country is significant , different country can mean different offered applications.

3. Go to the Top Free Apps widget and click on the top free application.
4. Clicking on the Get App button prompts you to enter your AppleID , select Create New Account.
5. Proceed and create a new AppleID account.
6. If you got all the previous steps working , you may be able to see the "NONE" option on the Payment method section.

7. Select the NONE option and provide the billing information . Make sure that your address is a valid address from the country you have choosen in Step 2.
8. Click CONTINUE and you are good to go.

Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex Easy Installation Guide

2008-12-18T20:43:00.000-08:00

Installing Linux according to some , which I strongly disagree , is painful. Ive been jumping around several Linux flavors ( from Bayanihan to Smoothwall and some popular flavors in between ) and did not find any problem at all except for some minor ones. Good thing for newbies , Ubuntus installation has been improving a lot with every new release (and new odd name that comes with it) . I have Intrepid Ibex running on my box but I have not installed it manually . I am using a VMware , so downloading the VM image was a better solution . But for those who wants to try it without virtualization , heres a GOOD LINK to EASY INSTALLATION of UBUNTU 8.10 Intrepid Ibex .

Good Luck.

The difference between Vista, XP, Linux and MacOS explained!

2008-12-14T12:43:00.001-08:00

I was looking around for some nice articles to read till I reached this funny yet real blog post from Phil Shapiro on washingtonpost.com.

The Difference Between Vista, XP, Linux and Mac OS Explained
Wherein a middle school student asks me to explain the difference in simple terms. I do just that.

A middle school student I know asked me to explain the difference between Vista, XP, Linux and Mac OS. Here's the gist of our conversation:

Me: "You want to know the difference in real simple terms? Okay. Vista is bad gnews and GNU is good gnews. XP ain't such bad gnews, until you reach the blue screen of death, which ain't good gnews at all."

Middle schooler: "Okay, I think I understand. How about Mac OS?"

Me: "Mac OS is like a beautiful Bermuda island with a prison wall built all around it."

Middle schooler: "Really? How so?"

Me: "Well, Mac OS uses Digital Recreation Management (DRM), so if you want to build a sandcastle, you are forced to use an approved pail."

Middle schooler: "An approved pail? I want to use my own pail. That sounds to me like it's beyond the pale."

Me: "That indeed it is. It's beyond the pale. To use an approved pail is going to cost you $40 up front. Would you like to use Mastercard or VISA?"

Middle schooler: "I don't want to use Mastercard or VISA. I just want to use my own pail."

Me: "It sounds to me like you're ready to break out of prison and live a life with no bad gnews."

Middle schooler: "Yes, I'm ready now. I'm ready for that. Will you show me how?"

Me: "Well, sure, I can show you how."

I just love how he spelled GNEWS (news) , so GNUish.

Microsofts First iPhone Application

2008-12-14T09:51:00.000-08:00

On yet another occasion , software giant Microsoft has been extending its "coverage" on other platform. Just yesterday , they have release their first application to run on Apples iPhone (perhaps even on iPod Touch too). The Seadragon Mobile is a free image-browsing app that allows users to quickly "deep zoom" images while online and is intended to demonstrate what is possible with mobile platform.It is the backbone for Microsoft's Photosynth, which allows users to take a grouping of photographs and stitch them together into a faux 3D environment. an article from CNET news also mentioned that other iPhone apps are being developed at Microsofts Live Labs .

Some may welcome this move of the software giants to expand and penetrate the iPhone market, others may simply see it as another marketing strategy to display what they can do . when asked why they have the made the new application available to the iPhone first before their own mobile platform , they simply say :"The iPhone is the most widely distributed phone with a (graphics processing unit). Most phones out today don't have accelerated graphics in them. The iPhone does and so it enabled us to do something that has been previously difficult to do."

I appreciate Microsofts way of getting the best out of any available technology . They have the idea but Apple got the needed technology. Unselfishly , they decided to put it in Apple. I am not a Microsft guy or an Apple patron , I just like the way how technology is being used by anyone. I run Vista and Linux , I have an iPod and I use nokia phone so what the heck....

An Open Source CMS from Microsoft ?????

2008-12-08T20:51:00.000-08:00

Perhaps the open source thing has been running around Microsoft . Microsoft dont like showing their codes, that is why even just a glimpse of MS Windows code can be worth a million. But of course , they support learning , that is why they have codePlex. Now going back to the topic , ZDNet announce today that Microsoft is developing an Open Source CMS !! Yes , an open source Content Management System. For what ? I dont know. as far as I know , they released Blogengine.net on codePlex a few months ago which is mainly an opensource solution for blogging. Now they are going for the CMS. Is it not that Microsft already have the MOSS or the Microsoft Office Sharepoint Server or even the outdated Community Server?

It is a welcome development indeed for Open source fanatics . I just hope that it will receive great appreciation from those who are currently using famous Opensource CMS such as Drupal , Joomla , PHPNuke or even DotNetNuke .

One main concern why I prefer OpenSource CMS which can run on linux is its cheapness to maintain and operate. Most free and cheap web hosting runs linux on their servers. Drupal , which I have already used in Online aparri , for example, uses MySQL and runs on top of apache in a linux box. Will this new OpenSource CMS has the ability to run on top of MySQl and Apache environment? I bet it doesnt unless maybe they have used Mono , then there is a slim chance. Nonetheless , for a budget sensitive guy , I will still prefer CMS that run on top of open source softwares such as Linux, MySql and apache.

By the way, MS is naming it initially as "Oxite".

Microsoft Vista SP2 is on the Loop

2008-12-07T11:42:00.000-08:00

After releasing Vista SP1 this year , Microsoft has announced the availability of Vista SP2 on Beta of course . There is no final release date for the said service pack but some report mentioned a roll out by April 2009. The company launched the first public beta of Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) last December 4, making it available for download from both its Web site and through its update mechanism. A warning. Unfortunately , the update is not directed towards the general public , rather it is intended for tech junkies , beta testers or simply geeks who wants to have a preview on what to come. Additionally, users must jump through some hoops before they can grab Vista SP2 from Windows Update, Microsoft told.

Read more about this article at ComputerWorld.

I am a Foreigner

2008-12-07T10:22:00.000-08:00

Being away from the Philippines for almost a month now somewhat changed the way I go by everyday. Missing those close to you , your family , the lutong ulams , the busy street of the metro, colorum fx , jeepneys, the fort bus , cool and uncool OPM music on every radio, the endless competition of ABS and GMA and unlimited texting will get into your nerves somehow . What you see here are different , no sari sari stores just walmarts and targets, no cdrkings or greenhills or gilmore what you have are circuitcity or tigerdirect or radisoshacks , the closes to filipino foods are the chinese restaurants and where oriental shops the grand asia market is the alternative to american oriented grocery stores.

Good thing the internet has not changed a bit , YMs and Chikka are still available , Yahoos and Googles are still your best friend and torrents are still your best resource (hahaha).

This is where nosebleeds are a common sight , not because of fist fights but more on communicating with fast-talking "americanos" . A place where the question "Ano Raw?" is a common term. Where a dime or a 25 cent coin is worth something , where tax are not included on item prices and where tips are compulsary and not just an option.

The complexity of life here unfolds before my eyes , I may either appreciate it or simply live by it until the end of February.

Pacquiao Won Over Dela Hoya

2008-12-06T21:49:00.001-08:00

After months of hype and excitement, the Pacquiao vs Dela Hoya match came to an end with a big bang for Filipinos. The Pacman won , with no question, and once again proved to the world that he is the best pound for pound boxer today.

Congratulations Manny Pacquaio . You made us feel that we should be proud being a Filipino.

Online Aparri

2008-10-29T18:55:00.000-07:00

I have been silent for a while on this blog . Even my planned post on MonoDevelop running on top of Ubuntu has been put on hold. Reason? I found Drupal and started playing on it for a while . Output? An alpha release of an Online Virtual Community for Aparrianos.

The site was built using the basic features of Drupal plus some contributed modules . As of the moment no PHP coding is being done but Im planning to integrate some of it when Ill have time to learn the langugae. The domain name is a free but Ill be registering a more appropriate domain name later on. I enjoyed learning Drupal and still learning more and expect for posts regarding this Open Source CMS later on.

Google Code Repositories

2008-10-11T19:30:00.000-07:00

Google is indeed conquering everything . I usually use Google Mail (gmail) , Google Docs , Google Calendar , Google Talk , Google Map , Google Pages , Blogger , Chrome (before my OS got hit by a virus last month , ill reinstall chrome soon) and yes Google Search . No wonder Google is all over .

Just last night , while searching for some articles on Model-View-Presenter topic , I downloaded a sample source code from a source which has "google" on its URL . The code was actually hosted by Google Code repository running Subversion. The main Google Code page displays most of the current development done and link to those projects . This include a link to Android , Googles platform for Mobile Development. Under Developers Resources you will find the Project Hosting link. This allows you to host your own project (up to 10 projects) and make it available to the web. Whats cool is that a Wiki page , Issue Tracker , Download Page , Source Code Page and Description page is provided . This is a good avenue for open source developers who wants their codes to be looked upon and being changed by the community . Im planing to host one of my initial open source web project here once it is ready for alpha relase. By the way , I found the C#-Ported DotNetNuke hosted in Google Code.

If I could remember it well , my previous officemate (Meng) once sent me a link to an article about Googlism, discussing profane thoughts on Google being a God .

The Need for Source Code Control

2008-10-11T06:34:00.000-07:00

Reading through some articles on Source Code Control , I ran into an article by a person from SourceGear and I certainly agree with his introduction. Never had I learn something about source code management in school . Yes , they did talk about the infamous SDLC but not on SCM or CVS or SVN . Of course any one from the industry knows Source Code Control is a vital part of any development.

Back when I was starting development in USL where most of my skills was gained through constant reading , reseach and unpaid overtimes , I never thought of SCM . I know Visual Studio has a Visual Source Safe , but its actual use Im really clueless (or maybe just plain uninterested). One of the main reasons I never really dug into t is because I was the only developer for the application, I was the source code and the source code was me. It was only during my remaining quarter in USL that I made some effort to look into it. Mainly because some works are now being done by other programmers plus the thought of turn over was making sense. It was only on my second company that I got exposed to this process ( SourceOffSite and Vault was the main tools). My current company uses another , unfortunately I am yet to be exposed to it.

Source Code Control has undergone several innovations. Here are some list of terms use to describe them:
1. "Manual" Version Control - The simplest kind of version control consists of using the organization’s shared file storage system (e.g. networked file server) as the source code repository.
2. Microsoft Visual Source Safe . For larger projects and to solve the corrupted repository risk, Microsoft recommends the source code control functionality built into the Visual Studio Team Foundation (a suite of software configuration management and development technologies). Visual Studio 2010 Team Foundation has been previewed on some sites.
3. Concurrent Version System (CVS) - CVS is the dominant free open-source multi-platform client-server version control system.
4. Subversion (SVN) - Subversion is an open source project, actively maintained by Collabnet/Tigris, whose goal is to supercede CVS.
5. Revision Control System (RCS) - RCS is one of the oldest open-source version control systems and only implemented exclusive locking mode, so CVS was developed to supersede it by providing concurrent versioning instead.

Given those options , plus a dozen even more , different implementation can be adapted basing on the need of a particular team or company. I ran into a white paper discussion listing the pros and cons of each options above ( be warned that the document is somewhat outdated ).

Why do we neecd it? In my point of view , here are some reasons why Source Code Control is important.

A. Developers Point of View .

1. It serves as a central repository of source codes and other important data . Database changes are also placed in the repository. Not the MDF but the SQL (fro SQL Server) code (which is in text format , thus , diff can be done)is stored. You can use the SQL Server Data Publishing Wizard to generate the code if you are working on SQL Server.
2. Changes are easily tracked. This is very important on a project where several people are working together.
3. Ease of Backup and Restoration.
4. Updated Source Codes can easily move from one machine to the other.
5. Security on source code access can be easily done.

B. Management Point Of View

1. More secured respository for source codes.
2. Tracking of changes can be done easily.
3. Ease of Source Code turn overs.

Of course, there are other benefits of Source Code Control . Just feel free to comment on the post if you want to add or question some things.

Source code control is not just for team or groups, it can also be helpful for individual developers. This can be very helpful if you want to track changes in your code or move your code from one PC to the other.Currently , at home , I am using VisualSVN Server(free) , TortoiseSVN (free) and VisualSVN (not free). Luckily , for MonoDevelop users for Linux , SVN functionality is integrated in the IDE. (a blog that i will be posting later).

A US Visa Experience

2008-10-07T07:38:00.000-07:00

A US Visa at last, just B1 to be exact but somewhat fulfilling . After several hours of anxiety and waiting for a make or break interview with the consul , I nailed it. It came after several weeks of document preparation of course .

So here are some tips that I gained from the experience which may help :
1. Take time to read the instructions that comes with the DS157 form.
2. Fill up carefully the DS156 online and the DS157 manually.
3. Prepare the documents needed . If you have invitation letters , official letters from the company or any important documents that may be connected with your purpose of visiting the US , review them and make sure they are complete and authentic.
4. Prepare documents that may establish "strong ties" with Philippines ( reasons that will make you comeback). These may be in the form of bank statements , land titles , car registrations , existing contracts and others (some even brought photos of their family). I was not asked to show it to the consul but just bring it to be sure.
5. Come early on the day of the interview and make sure all your documents are with you.
6. As much as possible wear something smart casual and comfortable.

Some tips during the interview:
1. Be cool and keep an eye contact with the consul.
2. Answer all questions honestly.
3. Provide the additional documents he may ask . Be polite in giving honest reasons if those documents are not present.

Additional Tips:
1. Ask questions, some friends or colleagues that have undergone the application process can tell you a thing or two.
2. Read some forums regading the topic.

I find myself lucky in situations like this. On some interviews and applications (which maybe for employment or otherwise) I usually nail it on the first try. Marriage , of course is another story . Ill try to nail it the second time I suppose (hahahah)..

Success By Age

2008-10-04T18:29:00.000-07:00

Just to break the techie stuff , here is a post taken from my friends' friend blog.

At Age 4........... Success is........not peeing in your pants.

At Age 6............Success is........finding your way home (from school)

At Age 12...........Success is........having friends

At Age 16/18........Success is........having a driver's license

At Age 20...........Success is........having sex

At Age 35...........Success is........having money

At Age 45...........Success is........having money

At Age 55...........Success is........having money

At Age 60...........Success is........having sex

At Age 65...........Success is........keeping a driver's license

At Age 70...........Success is........having friends

At Age 75...........Success is........finding your way home (from anywhere)

At Age 80...........Success is.....not peeing your pants

The Story Behind the Name C#

2008-10-03T20:14:00.000-07:00

I remember one time in an exam for employment , the first question was - who is the father of C#? I have been working with the language but never did I ask myself who actually started the language ( of course Mirosoft was the brainchild , right? ) . After a googling expedition I found out who was the culprit - Microsofts Anders Hejlsberg. I was not interested why it was called C# then , but opening my VS2008 today , I stumbled on one of the articles being shown at the VS2008 opening page - "Computer World: The A-Z of Programming : C#". Its an interview with Anders discussing the history and beyond of C# . Heres the cool part , the name for C# prior to its release was actually COOL (C like Object Oriented Language) . Below are some lines taken from the interview:

Why was the language originally named Cool, and what promoted the change to C#?

The code name was Cool, which stood for ‘C like Object Oriented Language’. We kind of liked that name: all of our files were called .cool and that was kind of cool! We looked seriously at keeping the name for the final product but it was just not feasible from a trademark perspective, as there were way too many cool things out there.

So the naming committee had to get to work and we sort of liked the notion of having an inherent reference to C in there, and a little word play on C++, as you can sort of view the sharp sign as four pluses, so it’s C++++. And the musical aspect was interesting too. So C# it was, and I’ve actually been really happy with that name. It’s served us well.

Weekend with Linux

2008-10-01T07:26:00.000-07:00

After reviving my laptop from a virus infection , I started tinkering with it once again . I always had a passion for Linux and the Open Source community , but after trying to think about it a couple of times , I decided to stick with Windows XP for a while .So before I go on and try to tell you why I had Linux on the title of my post , I listed some reasons why I chose to stick with Windows XP for the meantime.

1. I use M$ products at work . Im a .Net developer , thus I use Microsoft Visual Studio for work . Having it installed in my machine is a necessity . However , I have begun exploring the Mono project (which will be posted later on ).
2. I use several software that I still could not find any alternatives yet in the Linux platform.
3. I have a legit license for my Windows XP so I decided to stick with it anyway.

Back to the main topic , I decided , however, to still go ahead and use Linux on my machine . Next stop , virtualization . Yep, as many have been hooked into it , i turned on virtualization to quench my Linux thirst . After looking at two possible options ( VMWare vs Vitual PC - VirtualBox should have been another good candidate) , I decided to go with M$ Virtual PC 2007 . Mainly because I have an existing VirtualPC that I want to use , and I find the software (but less feature rich than VMware ) simple to use.

Using my Ubuntu 7.10 (Gusty Gibon) installation disc, i moved ahead with the VPC creation . Which , of course , went unsuccessful . The screen just went ballistic upon loading the X window.

To make your life much easier when dealing with this odd combination ( Linux on M$ product ) , here are some few points that I would like you to look into:

1. VPC 2007 does not support the high resolution being offered by Ubuntu installation , thus it would be wise for you to choose the Start Ubunutu in Safe Graphics Mode . The disc i have is actually a liveCD which can let me use the OS without actually even installing it on the machine (or virtual machine as our case maybe) .
2. The Ubuntu 7.10 kernel has some problem dealing with mouse once it is in the emulated environment by VPC 2007 . To work around this problem , the i8042.noloop option added on the boot options seems to do the trick . Once you have selected the Start Ubuntu in Safe Mode Graphics , press F6 to bring out the boot options and simply add the new option at the end of the line.
3. Once done , hitting the enter key (and after several minutes of waiting) brings the Ubuntu desktop to life. Just click on the INSTALL icon to begin installing the guy. Installation will proceed similar to the usual Linux installation screens.
4. After reboot , fix the mouse again through the command line . Press Ctrl+Alt+f1 to go to command line then edit MENU.LST under /boot/grub adding the i8042.noloop at the end of the kernel option . Reboot and head your way towards a new Linux experience.

I managed to get my Ubuntu up and running on VPC 2007 , after several runs I found out several problems :
1. I cant access the USB devices . After running some google queries , i found out that it is one of the problems with linux on VPCs . Try several hacks and tricks to make them work.
2. I cant share folders using the VPC (of course I could not without installing the add ons for VPC which unfortunately does not support Ubuntu ) . Solution , folder sharing . I have managed to share a forlder on my host machine and just like any computers on a network it worked . SAMBA of course is another topic worth discussing.
3. My wireless network is not working.

I decided to upgrade to Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron) . Fortunately , I dont need a new CD for that , I just run the Add/Remove utility and Ubuntu seems to have detected that a new version is out and let me upgrade from 7.10 to 8.04 easily ( i used a wired connection to my network just to make thi work ) . And after almost 8 hours of downloading new packages (my connection was soooo slow) , I have managed to upgrade my Ubuntu , no CDs/DVDs/ required and not even a single cent to spend ( how I wish M$ can also offer this service ..I wish hehe ).

More than 1 day have passed , now I have my Ubuntu VPC working . It does not have the visual effects (like this and the one shown below) that it supports for real install but every thing I needed to start is there.

With all things in place , im heading towards the next stop : .Net development in Ubuntu using MonoDevelop , C# and MySQL . The screenshot below shows my Ubuntu VPC running MonoDevelop, MySQL , Firefox and Pidgin.

Google Adsense, where is my PIN ?

2008-09-26T09:06:00.000-07:00

For almost three or so months I was in haitus from this blog , yes I did post an article or two but that was just it. No change in layout nor enchancements . Worse , my Google Adsense is no longer showing , or if the poor guy is showing , its probably displaying a public announcement. My site is not generating much traffic for me to be concerned about those clicks and impressions that was not recorded during those adsense-free months , but the thought that it aint showing is a bit troublesome. So after poking around some FAQs about adsense , I found out that I need to enter a PIN to continue with the service . A number that they must have sent to me but somewhere along the way it was lost. So I gave another shot and requested another . After more than 3 weeks (i think) of patiently waiting , that damn PIN is not yet in my hands . DID YOU EVER SEND IT GUYS? Well if yes, I have to wait for another week or so ....

To Google-Adsense Guys: Please !!!!!!

Opening Office 2007 files using Office 2003

2008-09-26T08:03:00.000-07:00

This is a post that I should have done a year back , when Office 2007 was still on its initial phase. I hope this would still help others who have still their Office 2003 intact and dont want to move to a more resource inensive Office 2007.

To be able to open your docx , xlsx or pptx ( the common files in MS Office ) using the Office 2003 , the user must be able to install the Compatibility Pack for the 2007
Office system from Microsoft . This , however , does not guarantee that all elements in the 2007 file can be edited in 2003. Take note that the main purpose for this pack is for backward compatibility only but it doesnt assure that all things will be all well, otherwise the point of upgrading will be "pointless".

To read more about this solution as well as the link to the compatibility pack , read more of this from the Office 2007 website.

Twenty Nine

2008-09-23T06:55:00.000-07:00

Twenty Nine draws the line between what I have to become and what I was . Its been twenty nine years in production and like any system in the world , it was never a perfect ride . In between near perfect executions , are lines of buggy codes that made it more exciting . From optimization to work arounds , life has been a combinations of hits and misses .The past nine years of the twenty nine that I already have is built around a series of upgrades, downgrades , refactoring and rebuilding to come up with either service packs or hotfixes. But just like any close-to-perfectly-architected software modules , I always seem to pick up from any exceptions .

Beyond . The road map seems to be blurry still but the framework is slowly being completed . As I start to code again for a new release , this time it will be more stable .

MSLINUX , wtf!!!!

2008-09-21T00:38:00.000-07:00

As I was playing around the web searching for some answers to my linux questions , I came across a page for MSLinux. Initially , I found it intriguing , knowing the fact that the URL seems so serious . Then I questioned myself , are the redmond giant trying their luck on the Linux affair? Well , as it turned out after reading through the entire page , it is just a pure joke (in my opinion) and I had a good time laughing on the features. Below is an overview of the supposedly MSLINUX distro . You can visit the page here.

Microsoft Linux provides all the power of the Linux Operating System with the ease of use you've come to expect from Microsoft Products.

Microsoft Linux brings a new level of productivity to Linux, without sacrificing flexibility, performance, and control. In addition to features like My Home Directory and My Configuration, Microsoft Linux contains greatly improved support for Web and Enterprise development.

With Microsoft Linux Enterprise Edition, you can create scalable multi-tier applications using our new Graphical User Interface command-Line Technology (GUILT)?. Extend your productivity with optimized support for Internet Active-XWindows? Technology and built-in Internet Xplorer web browser.

My first crack at Google Chrome

2008-09-03T06:54:00.001-07:00

What is Google Chrome? Its a new one from search engine giant Google , a new INTERNET browser to say the least. A move to gain more market share in computing . First they had GMAIL then GoogleDocs and now Google Chrome.

Upon first sight to this new baby , I tried downloading it in the office using Windows 2000 as the OS , unfortunately as of this moment only Vista and XP is supported for Microsoft . Now using XP , I spent a little time looking at the features it has to offer . I know this is just a short preview of what Chrome is, but it will give you an idea on its future.

The Interface. The chrome sports a new look it terms of browser design. Its minimalistic in concept , designed for those who wants easy browsing. It radiates a light blue skin that soothes any surfers eyes and few buttons to get you going. Like any new browser , tabs are provided.

Unlike other famous browser, clicking on the new tab will bring about a rather more informative page rather than a blank empty useless page.

The address bar also serves as the Search Bar for a quick access to Googles' powerful search engine.

The Incognito Window. A more interesting feature is its Incognito window. A new browser look with hidden functionality.

What seperates Incognito from an ordinary browser can be best explained by clicking the new tab in the browser itself to bring about the page below:

The browser is just starting and there may be compatibility issues down the line . This galant effort by Google to come up with a new browser is somewhat refreshing and promising. For more information about Google Chrome , visit this site.

The best thing about Google Chrome , it is FREE and it is OPEN SOURCE.

Ubuntu to out-pretty Macs

2008-07-23T17:09:00.000-07:00

Im sure a lot of Linux desktop agress with me if I say that Ubuntu is indeed leading the way in Linux Desktop front. I ve known Ubuntu since 2006 and its interface has dramatically changed from the conventional Linux-looking UI to a more intuitive and better UI . Heres a better news to that , Mark Shuttleworth's vision for Ubuntu to out-pretty any desktop OS around and that includes the highly acclaimed Mac interface.

"I think the great task in front of us in the next two years is to lift the experience of the Linux desktop from something stable and usable and not pretty, to something that's art," Shuttleworth said.

This , when attained , can boost Open Source computing on Linux platform . But then again , training and information drives as well as support by open source community is still needed to make a household name.

Earthquake Safety Facts

2008-07-17T19:23:00.001-07:00

In line with the July 18 earthquake rumors , here is a forwarded email regarding earthquake safety facts:

EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP'S ARTICLE ON THE: 'TRIANGLE OF LIFE'

My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most experienced rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake.

I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a member of many rescue teams from many countries..

I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years. I have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters.

The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene, unnecessary and I wondered why the children were not in the aisles. I didn't at the time know that the children were told to hide under something.

Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them. This space is what I call the 'triangle of life'. The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the 'triangles' you see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in a collapsed building.

TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY

1) Most everyone who simply 'ducks and covers' WHEN BUILDINGS COLLAPSE are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.

2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position.
You should too in an earthquake.. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.

3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during
an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake.
If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created.
Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick
buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but
less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.

4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply
roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a
much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on The back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.

5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out
the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to
a sofa, or large chair.

6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is
killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or
backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!

7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different 'moment of
frequency' (they swing separately from the main part of the building).
The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each
other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get
on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads - horribly
mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the
stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the
stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when
overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety,
even when the rest of the building is not damaged.

8) Get Near the Outer Walls Of Buildings Or Outside Of Them If Possible
- It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than
the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the
building the greater the probability that your escape route will be
blocked.

9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls
in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened
with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway.. The victims of
the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were
all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or
lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had
been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the
crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had
columns fall directly across them.

10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices
and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact.
Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.

Eraserheads Reunion Concert

2008-07-16T08:15:00.000-07:00

I bet this is the hottest topic moving around . Anyone seems so very excited . Even rumors like this can make anyone who grew up in the 90s listening to eraserheads music jump for joy . Definitely it is not a rumor . Several reports from respected news sources have indeed confirmed that this is happening this August as some of the teaser posters and clues are trying to say.

As some reports have mentioned , it is scheduled for August 30 , 2008 . The tentative venue is at CCP Open Grounds and the best of it all , it was rumored to be a free concert where 35000 eraserheads fanatics are expected to attend

A one night only reunion concert is what we heard of but who knows what might happen next . I dont really know the reason for the reunion . It may be about sponsorship or about the money . The hell with it , I just hope that ultimately it is about good music from one of the greatest pinoy band I ever knew. Heck, Im reserving that day for the concert ( even if it is as short as a 45 minute drive to memory lane , as other rumors suggest ). Im sure it will bring back the days when everyone was singing "minsan sa may kalayaan tayo nagkatagpuan......"

Cigarette Ad Ban starts tomorrow , July 1

2008-06-30T08:46:00.000-07:00

What a great way to start July . At last after a long wait , gone will these teasing cigarette ads on any form ( television, radio and print ) by virtue of Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003 or Republic Act No. 9211.

Up to now I still wonder why people love to smoke . I have been there actually , smoking at least a dozen of stick just to get through overnight reviews and cramming back in college . Honestly , aside from the joy maybe of puffing these what I some times call as "Cancer Sticks" , they just leave you with stinky breath and smell. Its for this reason that I got turned off to women who dress so smartly (maybe) but holding or puffing cigars like they are even proud of it . The same goes for those careless smokers who smokes on public transports without thinking the danger of second hand smokes.

This is definitely a good start to clean the air we breathe . Definitely , these sometimes feel-good commercials lead consumers to think that having , buying and using them is a way to go. I just hope this will not be only good at the start like any "ningas kugon" laws that came before it.

Moonlight : The Silverlight Version for Linux

2008-05-19T19:30:00.000-07:00

Microsoft has been making moves to fit in to the computing ecosystem . Several of the notable development in this area includes the Windows Live Platform , Live Mesh and recently Moonlight.

Moonlight is an open source implementation of Microsoft's Silverlight web application platform. It's built on top of Mono, the open source .Net project.Moonlight is not a Microsoft project, but Microsoft has been working together with Mono, an open source project sponsored by Novell, to develop and run .Net client and server applications on Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X, Windows, and Unix, to make a Linux version of Silverlight happen. Moonlight is now available in both Silverlight v1.o and 2.0 builds. Silverlight, while it still has a long way to go to become as widely adapted as Adobe’s Flash, is leading the charge for Microsoft to become a more open eco-system for development.

Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1 Released

2008-05-19T19:25:00.001-07:00

The first of the series of service packs for VS2008 has just been released . With Service Pack 1, Visual Studio 2008 introduces a large assortment of new features for targeting Windows, Office, and the Web. Developers building .NET-basedapplications will enjoy improved performance in the WPF designer, new components for Visual Basic and Visual C++, as well as an MFC-based Office 2007 Ribbon. Web developers will see continued improvement in the client-side script tooling including JavaScript IntelliSense. Additionally, full support for SQL Server 2008, the ADO.NET Entity Framework and performance improvements for the IDE make Service Pack 1 a great release across the board.

The .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 delivers more controls, a streamlined setup, improved start-up performance, and powerful new graphics features for client development and rich data scaffolding, improved AJAX support, and other improvements for Web development. Additionally it introduces the ADO.NET Entity Framework and ADO.NET Data Services, which simplify data access code in applications by providing an extensible, conceptual model for data from any data source and enabling this model to closely reflect business requirements.

Some of the new features includes :

Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1 includes:

* Improved designers for building WPF applications
* Full support for SQL Server 2008
* The introduction of the ADO.NET Entity Designer
* Visual Basic and Visual C++ components and tools (including an MFC-based Office 2007 style 'Ribbon')
* Improvements to Team Foundation Server to respond to customer feedback on version control usability and performance, improved e-mail integration with work item tracking and full support for hosting on SQL Server 2008
* Improvements for Web development including richer JavaScript support, enhanced AJAX and data tools, and Web site deployment

The .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 includes:

* Performance increases between 20-45% for WPF-based applications - without having to change any code
* WCF improvements that give developers more control over the way they access data and services
* Streamlined installation experience for client applications
* Improvements in the area of data platform, such as the ADO.NET Entity Framework, ADO.NET Data Services and support for SQL Server 2008's new features.

Read More About this Release from Microsoft

Life Through the Eyes of a Taxi Driver

2008-05-15T08:32:00.000-07:00

Traveling through a car-packed Quirino highway down to the street-busy G.Tuazon can be a boring journey so I started a little chat with the cab driver which I shall call Ka Fredie . Ka Fredie is a typical taxi driver with a touch of a barrio accent coupled with a mix of rebellious thinking . Thus , i coined the name "Ka Fredie".

Trash:"Mahirap na ba byahe ngayon?"
Ka Fredie:

"Mahal na gasolina e, umaasa na lang kami sa dagdag ng mga asahero."

Trash:"Gasolina pala itong taxi nyo, di ba mas ok ung LPG?"
Ka Fredie:

"OO, dati kumikita ako ng hanggang 1,500 kaso pinababa ako e."

Trash:"Bakit?
Ka Fredie:

"Sabi ng doktor pag di ko raw tinigil baka bibigay katawan ko."
"Etong gobyerno natin prinopromote ung LPG e masama pla sa kalusugan ng driver pati na rin sa pasahero"
"Mahal talaga kasi gasolina kaya konti na lang kita namin."

Trash:"Dagdag mo pa yung kotong"
Ka Fredie:

"Ngayon ginagawa na nilang ordinance , kaya ung huli mo sa Makati iba pa rin pag nahuli ka sa QC"
"Mga opisyal kasi puro pera na lang iniisip , di nila iniisip kaming mga driver. Tapos puro kurakot na ngayon."

Trash:"Naabutan nyo ba si Marcos?"
Ka Fredie:

"OO. Mas maganda pa nga nung si Marcos kasi mahigpit cya . Kurakot man
sya pero sya lang , hindi gaya ngayon na ultimo Baranggay Tanod kurakot.
Noon pag nagsalita si Marcos lahat sumusunod e. Mga ginagawa nga ng mga presidente ngayon na projects plano na yan dati ni Marcos."

Trash:"Sa susunod na eleksyon , sino gusto nyo na presidente?"
Ka Fredie:

"Hindi na ako boboto. Pareparehas lang yan. Kung ako nga lang tatanungin, si Gloria na lang tutal naman siguro busog na yan pati mga galamay nya. Kung bago na naman magpapakabusog na naman at panibagong galamay na mag papakabusog din."
"Kung bibigyan nga ako ng madaming buhay , ako na mismo lilinis sa mga yan."
"Mahal na lahat , pati bigas . Di nila naiisip na maaring ISANG UMAGA MAGISING NA LANG SILANG ANG MGA MAHIHIRAP INAAKYAT NA ANG BAHAY NG MGA MAYAYAMAN KASI
WALA NANG MAKAIN. TUTAL PAREPAREHAS LANG NAMAN TAYONG TAO, KUNG MAMAMATAY SILA SA GUTOM ISASAMA NA RIN NILA MAYAYAMAN"
"Ako siguro sasama na rin ako, kasi ganun din mangyayari sa akin na wala nang makain. Baka nga yung mga pulis dyan aagawan na lang nila ng baril. Pag wala ng
makain baka pati karne ng tao kakainin na rin"

...usapan about traffic.....

Ka Freddie:

"Tignan mo mga bahay sa tabi ng highway pinaganda lang sa harapan pero sa likod wala parin. METRO GWAPO daw , dapat gawin METRO PLASTIC"
"Lagi na lang tumataas ang presyo ng gasolina , kasalanan ni tabako (FVR) at cory dahil sa DEREGULATION law na yan."

Trash:"Puro takas ang ginagawa ng mga kongresista dba? kaya di maayos ayos ang bansa. Sobrang talino kac nila."
Ka Fredie:

"Pasalamat nga sila at matalino sila , kaso di nila ginagamit sa kabutihan. Sana nga kunin na lang sa itaas ang talino na yan. Tignan natin kung
anong mangyayari sa kanila"
"Kung pagbibigyan talaga ako sa itaas ako na mismo lilinis sa mga yan."

After giving Ka Fredie my fare , I started to ponder on his thoughts on life . Here are the things that played in my mind:
1. Is there really a hazard on using LPG as a source of power for cars instead of gasoline?
2. Contrary to what most freedom fighters would say , most people that I met still prefers Marcos' style over Cory , FVR , Erap and GMA.
3. Even Ka Fredie dreams about Civil War , Chaos , Vigilantes and Cannibalism . His views on this actually sent chills in my bones.
4. What good will it bring if the Oil Deregulation Law is abolished?
5. Metro Gwapo to Metro Plastik - nice one Ka Fredie.
6. Lost of interest to elections due to bad experiences.

There are really a lot of views that can be learned by being with the actual people that feels the daily hardships of life . I may sound stupid but our leaders should go deeper into the masses and not just rely on economic figures to measure how well the country is doing . Corruption remains to be the main culprit and if this
will continue , as Ka Fredie envisioned , chaos and civil car can and will happen .

Automatic Properties and Object Initializers in .Net 3.5

2008-05-13T08:27:00.000-07:00

With the release of .Net 3.5 alongside with Visual Studio 2008 , new enhancements was again introduced . Some maybe well pronounced such as the inclusion of WCF, WPF , LINQ in .Net 3.0 and some just came unnoticed. If you have been accustomed of using a particular method or technique in implementing a certain code in .Net 2.0 , because of backward compatibility , you may not even notice that there are new ways of implementing it in .Net 3.5.

Here are two new concepts in .Net 3.5 that a developer may not notice ( at least in my opinion ) : Automatic Properties and Object Initializers . To illustrate these two , I am going to present the pre-.Net 3.5 way (.Net 2.0) and the .Net 3.5 way in creating a simple class with simple properties.

Automatic Properties

Creating a class can be tedious , especially when working with a list of properties , . One way to get around having to type the code for a private field and its public property getter and setter is to use a refactoring tool. However, there is a new language feature called Automatic Properties that allows you to type less code and still get a private field and its public getter and setter. You declare the automatic property using a shortcut syntax and the compiler will generate the private field and the public setter and getter for you.

.NET 2.0 Way

To build a simple class with two properties (i.e. FirstNumber and SecondNumber) and a method (i.e. GetSum()) , you write a code similar below:

 
public class OldSimpleMath
{
    private int _firstNumber;
    private int _secondNumber;
 
    public OldSimpleMath()
    {
    }
 
    public OldSimpleMath(
        int firstNumber,
        int secondNumber)
    {
        _firstNumber = firstNumber;
        _secondNumber = secondNumber;
    }
 
    public int FirstNumber
    {
        get { return _firstNumber; }
        set { _firstNumber = value; }
    }
 
    public int SecondNumber
    {
        get { return _secondNumber; }
        set { _secondNumber = value; }
    }
 
    public int GetSum()
    {
        return _firstNumber + _secondNumber;       
    }
}

Notice the use of two constructors to enable overloading.

.Net 3.5 Way

In .Net 3.5 , using the new feature , this would only give us a code similar below:

 
public class SimpleMath
{
    public int FirstNumber
    {
        get;
        set;
    }
 
    public int SecondNumber
    {
        get;
        set;
    }
 
    public int GetSum()
    {
        return FirstNumber + SecondNumber;
    }
}

Notice that there are no longer private variables to hold a local copy of our data , .NET 3.5 will take care of that. A constructor was not even defined . And yes , the class definition is much much simpler that in .Net 2.0.

If you are using VS2008 , make sure that the targetframework is set to .Net 3.5 , otherwise you will be generating compile errors.

Object Initializers

Object Initializers allow you to pass in named values for each of the public properties that will then be used to initialize the object.

.NET 2.0 Way

Notice our class using the old .Net 2.0 way above , it has two constructors . One accepts no parameters , while the other accepts two integers . Imagine that you have more than two properties that you want to initialize upon instantiation and with different possible combinations . That would take you time to code right?

In the pre .Net 3.5 era , you will write this codes to use the OldSimpleMath class:

 
static void UsingOldWay()
{
    OldSimpleMath number=
        new OldSimpleMath();
 
    number.FirstNumber = 1;
    number.SecondNumber = 5;
 
    Console.WriteLine(number.GetSum());
 
    //using constructor
    OldSimpleMath newNumber=
        new OldSimpleMath(5,8);
 
    Console.WriteLine(newNumber.GetSum());
}

Using a constructor that was not implemented in the class would generate compile errors.

.Net 3.5 Way

With object initializers , we can have a dynamic form of constructors . The syntax is to wrap the named parameters and their values with curly braces. Object Initializers allow you to pass in any named public property to the constructor of the class. This is a great feature as it removes the need to create multiple overloaded constructors using different parameter lists to achieve the same goal. While you can currently create your own constructors, Object initializers are nice because you do not have to create multiple overloaded constructors to handle the various combinations of how you might want to initialize the object. To make matters easier, when typing the named parameters the intellisense feature of the IDE will display a list of the named parameters for you. You do not have to pass all of the parameters in and in fact, you can even use a nested object initialize for a certain parameter.

 
static void UsingNewWay()
{
    SimpleMath number =
        new SimpleMath();
 
    number.FirstNumber = 4;
    number.SecondNumber = 5;
 
    Console.WriteLine(number.GetSum());
 
    //using object initializer
    SimpleMath newNumber =
        new SimpleMath
        {
            FirstNumber=2,
            SecondNumber=4
        };
 
    Console.WriteLine(newNumber.GetSum());
}

Nice new feature right? It reduces a lot of coding time and allows you to concentrate more on the actual logic of the program.

Note: If you are using Resharper 3.1 for VS2008 , the version does not pick up these new features so you can see that they are flagged as errors by Resharper and in some cases for the Object Initializers the intellisense may not work . None the less , if you are sure that your creating a .Net 3.5 project , just hit the build button and everything will just be fine.

48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene and Joost Elffers

2008-05-10T08:40:00.000-07:00

Law 1
Never Outshine the Master

Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire to please or impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite – inspire fear and insecurity. Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power.

Law 2
Never put too Much Trust in Friends, Learn how to use Enemies

Be wary of friends-they will betray you more quickly, for they are easily aroused to envy. They also become spoiled and tyrannical. But hire a former enemy and he will be more loyal than a friend, because he has more to prove. In fact, you have more to fear from friends than from enemies. If you have no enemies, find a way to make them.

Law 3
Conceal your Intentions

Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense. Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelope them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions, it will be too late.

Law 4
Always Say Less than Necessary

When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, and sphinxlike. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish.

Law 5
So Much Depends on Reputation – Guard it with your Life

Reputation is the cornerstone of power. Through reputation alone you can intimidate and win; once you slip, however, you are vulnerable, and will be attacked on all sides. Make your reputation unassailable. Always be alert to potential attacks and thwart them before they happen. Meanwhile, learn to destroy your enemies by opening holes in their own reputations. Then stand aside and let public opinion hang them.

Law 6
Court Attention at all Cost

Everything is judged by its appearance; what is unseen counts for nothing. Never let yourself get lost in the crowd, then, or buried in oblivion. Stand out. Be conspicuous, at all cost. Make yourself a magnet of attention by appearing larger, more colorful, more mysterious, than the bland and timid masses.

Law 7
Get others to do the Work for you, but Always Take the Credit

Use the wisdom, knowledge, and legwork of other people to further your own cause. Not only will such assistance save you valuable time and energy, it will give you a godlike aura of efficiency and speed. In the end your helpers will be forgotten and you will be remembered. Never do yourself what others can do for you.

Law 8
Make other People come to you – use Bait if Necessary

When you force the other person to act, you are the one in control. It is always better to make your opponent come to you, abandoning his own plans in the process. Lure him with fabulous gains – then attack. You hold the cards.

Law 9
Win through your Actions, Never through Argument

Any momentary triumph you think gained through argument is really a Pyrrhic victory: The resentment and ill will you stir up is stronger and lasts longer than any momentary change of opinion. It is much more powerful to get others to agree with you through your actions, without saying a word. Demonstrate, do not explicate.

Law 10
Infection: Avoid the Unhappy and Unlucky

You can die from someone else’s misery – emotional states are as infectious as disease. You may feel you are helping the drowning man but you are only precipitating your own disaster. The unfortunate sometimes draw misfortune on themselves; they will also draw it on you. Associate with the happy and fortunate instead.

Law 11
Learn to Keep People Dependent on You

To maintain your independence you must always be needed and wanted. The more you are relied on, the more freedom you have. Make people depend on you for their happiness and prosperity and you have nothing to fear. Never teach them enough so that they can do without you.

Law 12
Use Selective Honesty and Generosity to Disarm your Victim

One sincere and honest move will cover over dozens of dishonest ones. Open-hearted gestures of honesty and generosity bring down the guard of even the most suspicious people. Once your selective honesty opens a hole in their armor, you can deceive and manipulate them at will. A timely gift – a Trojan horse – will serve the same purpose.

Law 13
When Asking for Help, Appeal to People’s Self-Interest,
Never to their Mercy or Gratitude

If you need to turn to an ally for help, do not bother to remind him of your past assistance and good deeds. He will find a way to ignore you. Instead, uncover something in your request, or in your alliance with him, that will benefit him, and emphasize it out of all proportion. He will respond enthusiastically when he sees something to be gained for himself.

Law 14
Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy

Knowing about your rival is critical. Use spies to gather valuable information that will keep you a step ahead. Better still: Play the spy yourself. In polite social encounters, learn to probe. Ask indirect questions to get people to reveal their weaknesses and intentions. There is no occasion that is not an opportunity for artful spying.

Law 15
Crush your Enemy Totally

All great leaders since Moses have known that a feared enemy must be crushed completely. (Sometimes they have learned this the hard way.) If one ember is left alight, no matter how dimly it smolders, a fire will eventually break out. More is lost through stopping halfway than through total annihilation: The enemy will recover, and will seek revenge. Crush him, not only in body but in spirit.

Law 16
Use Absence to Increase Respect and Honor

Too much circulation makes the price go down: The more you are seen and heard from, the more common you appear. If you are already established in a group, temporary withdrawal from it will make you more talked about, even more admired. You must learn when to leave. Create value through scarcity.

Law 17
Keep Others in Suspended Terror: Cultivate an Air of Unpredictability

Humans are creatures of habit with an insatiable need to see familiarity in other people’s actions. Your predictability gives them a sense of control. Turn the tables: Be deliberately unpredictable. Behavior that seems to have no consistency or purpose will keep them off-balance, and they will wear themselves out trying to explain your moves. Taken to an extreme, this strategy can intimidate and terrorize.

Law 18
Do Not Build Fortresses to Protect Yourself – Isolation is Dangerous

The world is dangerous and enemies are everywhere – everyone has to protect themselves. A fortress seems the safest. But isolation exposes you to more dangers than it protects you from – it cuts you off from valuable information, it makes you conspicuous and an easy target. Better to circulate among people find allies, mingle. You are shielded from your enemies by the crowd.

Law 19
Know Who You’re Dealing with – Do Not Offend the Wrong Person

There are many different kinds of people in the world, and you can never assume that everyone will react to your strategies in the same way. Deceive or outmaneuver some people and they will spend the rest of their lives seeking revenge. They are wolves in lambs’ clothing. Choose your victims and opponents carefully, then – never offend or deceive the wrong person.

Law 20
Do Not Commit to Anyone

It is the fool who always rushes to take sides. Do not commit to any side or cause but yourself. By maintaining your independence, you become the master of others – playing people against one another, making them pursue you.

Law 21
Play a Sucker to Catch a Sucker – Seem Dumber than your Mark

No one likes feeling stupider than the next persons. The trick, is to make your victims feel smart – and not just smart, but smarter than you are. Once convinced of this, they will never suspect that you may have ulterior motives.

Law 22
Use the Surrender Tactic: Transform Weakness into Power

When you are weaker, never fight for honor’s sake; choose surrender instead. Surrender gives you time to recover, time to torment and irritate your conqueror, time to wait for his power to wane. Do not give him the satisfaction of fighting and defeating you – surrender first. By turning the other check you infuriate and unsettle him. Make surrender a tool of power.

Law 23
Concentrate Your Forces

Conserve your forces and energies by keeping them concentrated at their strongest point. You gain more by finding a rich mine and mining it deeper, than by flitting from one shallow mine to another – intensity defeats extensity every time. When looking for sources of power to elevate you, find the one key patron, the fat cow who will give you milk for a long time to come.

Law 24
Play the Perfect Courtier

The perfect courtier thrives in a world where everything revolves around power and political dexterity. He has mastered the art of indirection; he flatters, yields to superiors, and asserts power over others in the mot oblique and graceful manner. Learn and apply the laws of courtiership and there will be no limit to how far you can rise in the court.

Law 25
Re-Create Yourself

Do not accept the roles that society foists on you. Re-create yourself by forging a new identity, one that commands attention and never bores the audience. Be the master of your own image rather than letting others define if for you. Incorporate dramatic devices into your public gestures and actions – your power will be enhanced and your character will seem larger than life.

Law 26
Keep Your Hands Clean

You must seem a paragon of civility and efficiency: Your hands are never soiled by mistakes and nasty deeds. Maintain such a spotless appearance by using others as scapegoats and cat’s-paws to disguise your involvement.

Law 27
Play on People’s Need to Believe to Create a Cultlike Following

People have an overwhelming desire to believe in something. Become the focal point of such desire by offering them a cause, a new faith to follow. Keep your words vague but full of promise; emphasize enthusiasm over rationality and clear thinking. Give your new disciples rituals to perform, ask them to make sacrifices on your behalf. In the absence of organized religion and grand causes, your new belief system will bring you untold power.

Law 28
Enter Action with Boldness

If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your doubts and hesitations will infect your execution. Timidity is dangerous: Better to enter with boldness. Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid.

Law 29
Plan All the Way to the End

The ending is everything. Plan all the way to it, taking into account all the possible consequences, obstacles, and twists of fortune that might reverse your hard work and give the glory to others. By planning to the end you will not be overwhelmed by circumstances and you will know when to stop. Gently guide fortune and help determine the future by thinking far ahead.

Law 30
Make your Accomplishments Seem Effortless

Your actions must seem natural and executed with ease. All the toil and practice that go into them, and also all the clever tricks, must be concealed. When you act, act effortlessly, as if you could do much more. Avoid the temptation of revealing how hard you work – it only raises questions. Teach no one your tricks or they will be used against you.

Law 31
Control the Options: Get Others to Play with the Cards you Deal

The best deceptions are the ones that seem to give the other person a choice: Your victims feel they are in control, but are actually your puppets. Give people options that come out in your favor whichever one they choose. Force them to make choices between the lesser of two evils, both of which serve your purpose. Put them on the horns of a dilemma: They are gored wherever they turn.

Law 32
Play to People’s Fantasies

The truth is often avoided because it is ugly and unpleasant. Never appeal to truth and reality unless you are prepared for the anger that comes for disenchantment. Life is so harsh and distressing that people who can manufacture romance or conjure up fantasy are like oases in the desert: Everyone flocks to them. There is great power in tapping into the fantasies of the masses.

Law 33
Discover Each Man’s Thumbscrew

Everyone has a weakness, a gap in the castle wall. That weakness is usual y an insecurity, an uncontrollable emotion or need; it can also be a small secret pleasure. Either way, once found, it is a thumbscrew you can turn to your advantage.

Law 34
Be Royal in your Own Fashion: Act like a King to be treated like one

The way you carry yourself will often determine how you are treated; In the long run, appearing vulgar or common will make people disrespect you. For a king respects himself and inspires the same sentiment in others. By acting regally and confident of your powers, you make yourself seem destined to wear a crown.

Law 35
Master the Art of Timing

Never seem to be in a hurry – hurrying betrays a lack of control over yourself, and over time. Always seem patient, as if you know that everything will come to you eventually. Become a detective of the right moment; sniff out the spirit of the times, the trends that will carry you to power. Learn to stand back when the time is not yet ripe, and to strike fiercely when it has reached fruition.

Law 36
Disdain Things you cannot have: Ignoring them is the best Revenge

By acknowledging a petty problem you give it existence and credibility. The more attention you pay an enemy, the stronger you make him; and a small mistake is often made worse and more visible when you try to fix it. It is sometimes best to leave things alone. If there is something you want but cannot have, show contempt for it. The less interest you reveal, the more superior you seem.

Law 37
Create Compelling Spectacles

Striking imagery and grand symbolic gestures create the aura of power – everyone responds to them. Stage spectacles for those around you, then full of arresting visuals and radiant symbols that heighten your presence. Dazzled by appearances, no one will notice what you are really doing.

Law 38
Think as you like but Behave like others

If you make a show of going against the times, flaunting your unconventional ideas and unorthodox ways, people will think that you only want attention and that you look down upon them. They will find a way to punish you for making them feel inferior. It is far safer to blend in and nurture the common touch. Share your originality only with tolerant friends and those who are sure to appreciate your uniqueness.

Law 39
Stir up Waters to Catch Fish

Anger and emotion are strategically counterproductive. You must always stay calm and objective. But if you can make your enemies angry while staying calm yourself, you gain a decided advantage. Put your enemies off-balance: Find the chink in their vanity through which you can rattle them and you hold the strings.

Law 40
Despise the Free Lunch

What is offered for free is dangerous – it usually involves either a trick or a hidden obligation. What has worth is worth paying for. By paying your own way you stay clear of gratitude, guilt, and deceit. It is also often wise to pay the full price – there is no cutting corners with excellence. Be lavish with your money and keep it circulating, for generosity is a sign and a magnet for power.

Law 41
Avoid Stepping into a Great Man’s Shoes

What happens first always appears better and more original than what comes after. If you succeed a great man or have a famous parent, you will have to accomplish double their achievements to outshine them. Do not get lost in their shadow, or stuck in a past not of your own making: Establish your own name and identity by changing course. Slay the overbearing father, disparage his legacy, and gain power by shining in your own way.

Law 42
Strike the Shepherd and the Sheep will Scatter

Trouble can often be traced to a single strong individual – the stirrer, the arrogant underling, the poisoned of goodwill. If you allow such people room to operate, others will succumb to their influence. Do not wait for the troubles they cause to multiply, do not try to negotiate with them – they are irredeemable. Neutralize their influence by isolating or banishing them. Strike at the source of the trouble and the sheep will scatter.

Law 43
Work on the Hearts and Minds of Others

Coercion creates a reaction that will eventually work against you. You must seduce others into wanting to move in your direction. A person you have seduced becomes your loyal pawn. And the way to seduce others is to operate on their individual psychologies and weaknesses. Soften up the resistant by working on their emotions, playing on what they hold dear and what they fear. Ignore the hearts and minds of others and they will grow to hate you.

Law 44
Disarm and Infuriate with the Mirror Effect

The mirror reflects reality, but it is also the perfect tool for deception: When you mirror your enemies, doing exactly as they do, they cannot figure out your strategy. The Mirror Effect mocks and humiliates them, making them overreact. By holding up a mirror to their psyches, you seduce them with the illusion that you share their values; by holding up a mirror to their actions, you teach them a lesson. Few can resist the power of Mirror Effect.

Law 45
Preach the Need for Change, but Never Reform too much at Once

Everyone understands the need for change in the abstract, but on the day-to-day level people are creatures of habit. Too much innovation is traumatic, and will lead to revolt. If you are new to a position of power, or an outsider trying to build a power base, make a show of respecting the old way of doing things. If change is necessary, make it feel like a gentle improvement on the past.

Law 46
Never appear too Perfect

Appearing better than others is always dangerous, but most dangerous of all is to appear to have no faults or weaknesses. Envy creates silent enemies. It is smart to occasionally display defects, and admit to harmless vices, in order to deflect envy and appear more human and approachable. Only gods and the dead can seem perfect with impunity.

Law 47
Do not go Past the Mark you Aimed for; In Victory, Learn when to Stop

The moment of victory is often the moment of greatest peril. In the heat of victory, arrogance and overconfidence can push you past the goal you had aimed for, and by going too far, you make more enemies than you defeat. Do not allow success to go to your head. There is no substitute for strategy and careful planning. Set a goal, and when you reach it, stop.

Law 48
Assume Formlessness

By taking a shape, by having a visible plan, you open yourself to attack. Instead of taking a form for your enemy to grasp, keep yourself adaptable and on the move. Accept the fact that nothing is certain and no law is fixed. The best way to protect yourself is to be as fluid and formless as water; never bet on stability or lasting order. Everything changes.

Second Shot on Your Microsoft Certification (Last Minute Promotion)

2008-05-05T20:20:00.000-07:00

Getting to know your hardware using CPUID

2008-05-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

There are some instances when you need to know what is inside your machine but you just dont know how. Instead of finding those neatly kept manuals (if they are still there) or trying to look into your bios , or locating system information in start menu or or worst opening your machine and physically inspect it , try downloading CPUID and the rest is magic . It is a freeware so no worries on licenses . Heres a snapshot of my Neo machine that I bought last June 2007 . By the look of it , I definitely need a well deserved upgrade !

Internal Vista Video that Sucks

2008-04-29T09:47:00.001-07:00

Whether the guys from Redmond admit this or not , this video sucks !

Source : GIZMODO,Tech Side Up

Be Always on the SPOT

2008-04-29T08:38:00.000-07:00

I just came across this new site being marketed in a magazine . I think for newbies trying to get around the metro and curious on what is cooking on different hot spots in the city , this site is a good place to start . SPOT.PH is a website about dining , chilling and playing . It provides an intuitive interface to search for bars and restaurants , a personal review from SPOT members ( yes you can sign up and be a member of the site ala social networking site ) , a list of what is hip around the metro , a forum where you can ask just about anything on everything and a multimedia gallery where you can post your own picture and be on the spot. From finding the best resto the city can offer to the best bathroom around , SPOT.PH has it all for you . Log on to the site now and see what is in store for you.

Anti Colorum Drive , WTF????

2008-04-29T07:24:00.000-07:00

Going to work every 5 days of the week seems to be the worst ordeal for a city commuter like me . Good thing my place is near a shuttle service bound for Makati . You are right , not a legit service , colorum if you may say . I may get some unfriendly feedback , but i thank these colorum vans is a big help to common "taos" like me . Its not that I love breaking the law , its just that I feel convenient for them doing so . Imagine the hassle of going to Quiapo then ride another bus for Makati .

Going forward , I wrote this blog not in support of colorum boys but to give my observations how authorities conduct what they call "Anti Colorum Drives" . I have experienced queueing for almost an hour because there were limited van willing to travel because of the above mentioned program . Yes , i have also experienced the feel of being chased by this uniformed man in big bikes and eventually overtaking the van at Valero . But this does not happen everyday . The funny thing behind it is that the same yellow and white uniformed guys man the Makati area everyday of the week , but in most cases they dont even seem to care if the vehicles on the street are colorum vans , worst even those that should not be allowed to travel because of coding can still carry their passengers from my place to Ayala .

This only means one thing , the law seems to have an schedule and its not consistent or constant . If they are really serious about this campaign then do it everyday . For now , I give my hands to these colorum boys for making my everyday travel less cumbersome .

SIGA 2008 - Final Program of Activities

2008-04-28T01:14:00.000-07:00

Download the final program of activities for SIGA 2008 here . (Thanks Ugin for the info)

Referencing a .Net Managed Assembly in Visual Basic 6

2008-04-28T00:20:00.000-07:00

Im into converting a VB6 app into .Net and i run into this kind of a scenario - the VB6 app references a .Net Managed Assembly . So after consulting you know who , here are the steps to reference you .Net Managed Assembly in Visual Basic 6 :

1. Register the system.dll assembly created by the .NET Framework as a COM object:

Open a DOS command window. Type: CD C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\[.net version] Type: regasm sample.dll

2. Add a reference to the DLL.
A. Create a Visual Basic project.
B. Select the Project menu's References command.
C. In the References dialog, click Browse.
D. Navigate to and Select the sample.tlb file and click Open.
*** Important *** Select the ".tlb" file not the ".dll" file.
The ".tlb" file contains extra information that Visual Basic needs to use the DLL.
Click OK to close the References dialog.

ABCs of Mobile Phone Technology

2008-04-27T09:06:00.000-07:00

Dont be misled by the title , its just a list of some common terms used to describe the technology a particular phone is using . So dont be left behind read and take down notes .

0G :standing for the 1st generation of mobile phones, were satellite phones developed for boats mainly - but anyone could get one in one’s car in the beginning of the 90s for several thousand dollars. Networks such as Iridium, Global Star and Eutelsat were truly worldwide (although for physical reasons, think of a satellite as a fixed point above the equator, some Northern parts of Scandinavia aren’t reachable), and everybody thought at that time that satellite phones would become mainstream products as soon as devices got smaller and cheaper. This vision proved wrong when the GSM concretely came to life in 1990/1991 in Finland.

1G: Firstly, there were analog GSM systems, that existed for a few years. And then came the digital systems.

2G: the second generation of mobile telecommunications still is the most widespread technology in the world; you’ve basically all heard of the GSM norm (GSM stands for Groupe Spécial Mobile in French, renamed in Global System for Mobility). The GSM operates in the 850Mhz. and 1900Mhz. bands in the US, & 900Mhz. and 1.8Mhz. bands in the rest of the world and delivers data at the slow rate of 9.6 Kbytes/sec. In related development , 2G phones are no longer being produced in Japan .

2.5G: For that last reason (9.6 Kbytes/sec doesn’t allow you to browse the Net or up/download an image), telco operators came up with the General Packet Radio System or GPRS (remember all the hype around the WAP) which could enable much faster communications. It provides data rates from 56 up to 114 kbit/s.. But the market decided it was still not enough compared to what they had at home.

2.75G:In reality 2.75G does not exist it is just used to differentiate mobile phones that is EDGE capable but basically it is still a 2.5G phone . EDGE
EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) or EGPRS provides data transfer rates significantly faster than GPRS or HSCSD. EDGE increases the speed of each timeslot to 48 kbps and allows the use of up to 8 timeslots, giving a maximum data transfer rate of 384 kbps. In places where an EDGE network is not available, GPRS will automatically be used instead. EDGE offers the best that can be achieved with a 2.5G network, but eventually was replaced by 3G.

3G: also called UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications Standard). Aimed at enabling long expected videoconferencing, although nobody seems to actually use it . Its other name is 3GSM, which says literally that UMTS is 3 times better than GSM. One issue though: depending on the deployment level of the area you are in and your device, your phone will (have to be) handle(d) from the GSM network to the UMTS network, and conversely - making billing more complex to understand for the consumers. One of the major positive points of UMTS is its global roaming capabilities (roaming is the process that allows you, at a cost, to borrow bandwidth from a telco provider that’s not yours; you usually use roaming when calling from abroad).

3.5G or 3G+: High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) is a 3G (third generation) mobile telephony communications protocol in the High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) family, which allows networks based on Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) to have higher data transfer speeds and capacity. Current HSDPA deployments support down-link speeds of 1.8, 3.6, 7.2 and 14.4 Mbit/s.

As of this moment , these are the common standards that we see in the Philippines but outside the Philippines you expect networks that is far superior that 3G or 3.5G (4G anyone? or perhaps 5G ?)

The Search for the New 7 Wonders of Nature is ON

2008-04-26T08:52:00.001-07:00

The search for the new 7 wonders of nature is on. This is a project of the New7wonders foundation . The Foundation was established in 2001 by the Swiss-born Canadian filmmaker, author and adventurer Bernard Weber to contribute to the protection of the world’s human-built and natural heritage and to foster respect for the cultural diversity on our planet.

Filipinos should be proud , our own Tubbutaha Reef is part of the top 10 based on the live ranking . Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park also made a great leap today from number 78 to number 65 .

So what are you waiting for , Filipinos unite and show our support to our entry by voting . Let your votes be counted , VOTE NOW.

Source of Information : Blog Ni Islaw

Green Revolution Tips

2008-04-26T06:32:00.000-07:00

GO DIGITAL. Print only those files you desperately need tangibly, and store everything in your hard drives , or on the Internet. This way you eliminate waste and wasting paper.

GO BLACK. Dark screens dont require as much energy as white ones. Make Blackle.com your home page . Blackle was created by Heap Media to remind us all of the need to take small steps in our everyday lives to save energy. Blackle searches are powered by Google Custom Search.

SAVE UP ON ELECTRICITY. Switch to compact flourescent bulbs . This saves around 50% of your expenses . Close your Airconditioners and open your windows.

GET NEW GEAR. If your gadgets are equivalent to a teener in human years perhaps its time to upgrade . Consider a laptop instead of a desktop . It has better energy consumptions . When buying fridge or airconditioners , look for its energy efficiency ratings - the higher the better.

THREE R's. Reduce , Reuse and Recycle . Reuse what you can and think before you buy .

Source : T3 Magazine

Changing your blogs site icon

2008-04-26T02:31:00.000-07:00

Growing tired of the big E as your blogs icon ? Heres the simple way of doing the make over .

1. Choose or create the icon that you want . You can use any graphic program for this .
2. Visit this site to convert your created/chosen picture file into a format that is suitable for shortcut icons. The site will provide you files that is in ZIP format and to be downloaded in your machine .
3. For bloggers who uses BLOGGER as its site , upload the provided PNG file to you favorite image hosting site. For those who have control to their website , upload the provided favicon.ico into your root directory.
4. Edit you page by adding the following tag inside your HEAD.

For BLOGGERS
link rel="Shortcut Icon" href="http:[whatever your image hosting site is]/favico.png"
For site owners
link rel="Shortcut Icon" href="favicon.ico"

Unified Communications World 2008

2008-04-24T08:31:00.000-07:00

The biggest event on Unified Communications, The UC World 2008 happens on April 25-26 at the Esplanade, SM Central Business Park, Pasay City.

See live Unified Communications Demos at the Cisco Booth
Cisco presents the Smart Business Communications System (SBCS). More than just a phone system, it's everyhting you need for your growing business in one box! SBCS integrates easily with your existing network and is easy to deploy, manage and operate. Ask about the extra cost savings you'll get with the special SBCS promo discount.

Date: April 25-26, 2008
Time: 9 :00am - 5 :00pm

Attend the Cisco Unified Communications Workspace Session
Discover how Cisco Unified Communications can help you enhance your business productivity and profitability.
How you can be connected and work seamlessly from where you are. How you can maximize collaboration within the company and with external parties. All these while enjoying cost savings in the long run!

Place: UCWorld presentation area
Date: April 25, 2008
Time: 9 :30 - 11:00am

Ubuntu releases its second LTS version

2008-04-22T08:18:00.000-07:00

Ubuntu Server 8.04 will be supported for five years, only the second version of Ubuntu to be guaranteed Long Term Support. What makes this news more interesting is that this version targets the enterprise domain which is currently being dominated by the Red Hat Enterprise and Novells Suse Linux Enterprise .

Ubuntu Server 8.04 will be supported for five years, only the second version of Ubuntu to be guaranteed Long Term Support, with the previous 6.06 version also receiving the LTS designation. Ubuntu follows its own naming convention on releases, using the year followed by the month to come up with 6.06, released in June 2006, or 8.04 released in April 2008.

Read More.....

Ten hot jobs that can be done at home

2008-04-22T07:42:00.000-07:00

Tired of going to work because the traffic sucks , it is hot as hell in the outside , you dont want to see your officemates face forever or you just wanted to stay home ? Here a list of hot jobs that can be done at home :

1. Administrative Services Manager

Traditionally, administrative services managers oversee large support staffs in offices such as hospitals and law firms. As larger employers consolidate responsibilities for multiple locations into a handful of positions, more administrative services managers have earned the option to work some or all of their hours from a home office.

2. Computer Systems Analyst

These information technology professionals help companies design state-of-the-art systems to run businesses. As employers use telecommuting jobs as a key strategy in their recruitment efforts, computer systems analysts often test new ideas at their own home offices. Learning about tools like virtual private network (VPN), video chat, and virtual desktops during a computer science degree program can help qualify graduates for home-based job.

3. Database Manager

All kinds of companies rely on databases, from mom-and-pop service organizations to global retailers. Because most databases can be maintained from any live Internet connection, a growing number of database managers work remotely over secure, private networks.

4. Public Relations Specialist

Because most public relations tasks involve phone or email, many PR specialists enjoy working from home at least a few days per week. With a bachelor's degree in communications, an office veteran can transition to a home-based job writing press releases and responding to media requests.

5. Paralegal

As more Americans seek quality legal representation, many law firms rely more heavily on paralegals for research assignments and routine tasks. Unlike lawyers, who must complete law school and pass a state bar exam, paralegals can start assisting on cases after completing an associate's degree program. Some law firms prefer to hire telecommuting paralegals to avoid adding office space. Other employers like the flexibility of bringing on temporary paralegals to cover sudden spikes in their caseloads.

6. Probation Officer

With many state governments trying to balance crowded jails with increased prosecution, many local agencies seek home-based probation officers.While the job often includes making site visits, many probation officers spend a significant portion of time on the phone or on email from home offices.

7. Web Design Professional

Early Web designers often received criticism for being teenagers working from home in their parents' attics. However, today's most successful Web design professionals enjoy home offices that boast high-speed Internet connections and fast workstations.

8. Desktop Publisher

Just as small businesses rely on public relations professionals to tell their stories, company owners look to desktop publishing professionals to make their stories look good in print. Advanced publishing tools now make it possible for desktop publishers to work from home.

9. Medical Transcriptionist

As many doctors' offices and health care facilities struggle to meet the demands of increased patient loads, home-based medical transcriptionists ride to the rescue. By leveraging skills gained in campus-based or online medical transcription training programs.

10. Virtual Assistant

Bootstrapping a business in today's economy often requires creative thinking. Some of the most creative and successful professionals in consulting, real estate, and health care have realized that they can reap the benefits of having full-time administrative assistance without the costs of expanding their own offices. Virtual assistants provide high-end secretarial tasks on demand for clients, usually from home offices.

Pick any one of those from the list . Just remember , if you want to work at home just make sure that you have a stable internet connection , a phone line where you boss can reach you and enough room and time away from distractions that may limit your working hours .

Source : Yahoo

Mobile Linux to take on Microsoft and Symbian

2008-04-22T07:27:00.000-07:00

I know every one is familiar with the Symbian OS and Microsoft OS for mobile devices . Linux , on the other hand , has been concentrating on desktop and enterprise solutions . For Linux fanatics , wait no further , there has been news that linux is going mobile . Yes , a new platform for the booming mobile industry . As a showcase of what Linux can do in the world of mobile computing , Nokia , the leading mobile phone producer , has unveiled a pocket-sized internet client running Linux for wireless internet browsing. Unfortunately , the 770 lacks a cellular radio that would allow it to go online directly or handle voice calls, making it Nokia's first consumer device that does not offer phone capabilities.

Presidential Campaign for 2010 Invades the Web

2008-04-22T06:42:00.000-07:00

Using the web as one of the primary channel for political campaigns is becoming a trend . Look at how the US presidential race has been gaining a lot of attention primarily because it is in the internet . Call it web-hype of some sort .

Just tonight , I stumbled upon a blogger site purposely created by a teen blogger to somewhat persuade Mar Roxas to run for presidency this 2010 . Honestly , it is my first time to see a blog site with political campaign motive behind .

I find it entertaining at some point yet informative on the other . Entertaining in the sense that it contains all the political gimmicks that can be possible to implement in the "webosphere" . Taking the Roxas site for example , it comes loaded with wittily created jingles that plays in the background . It also contains songs that can be related to the candidate . In Roxas' site , the song ranges from the famous Mr. Palengke song ( a rip off of Parokya ni Edgars' Mr. Suave ) to a more serious Umagang Kay Ganda . It also contains links to an assortment of some of the most notable social networking site in the planet like Friendster , Facebook , Youtube and even EventFul .

On the other hand , I see this type of movement as informative and promising as long as the information in it are reliable and true . It is one way of reaching out to the generation of voters who spends of their time surfing . It is a more comprehensive way of introducing a candidate , his backgrounds , his works , his achievents and his plans . Its also a cheaper alternative for those candidates who does not have ample funds to make those flyers and booklets just to introduce themselves but ending up on the street as piles of junks and garbages .

Yes, this type of movement is indeed promising if done within the context of morality and ethical behaviors . We dont want the web to be a haven for politically motivated and ill created black propagandas right?

How to Create a Tag Cloud for Blogger

2008-04-19T10:52:00.000-07:00

A tag cloud (or weighted list in visual design) is a visual depiction of user-generated tags used typically to describe the content of web sites. Tags are usually single words and are typically listed alphabetically, and the importance of a tag is shown with font size or color. Thus both finding a tag by alphabet and by popularity is possible. The tags are usually hyperlinks that lead to a collection of items that are associated with a tag.

For bloggers like me who did not really built the site from scratch , we have to stick with the basic features that blogger offers . Yes , the tag cloud is not supported . With a little searching , I came across a site that explains how to hack blogger and create a tag cloud . Just look at my blog for the output tag cloud .

Start Creating a Tag Cloud.

A Closer Look at Google AdSense

2008-04-19T07:30:00.000-07:00

The blogging fad had been hot like pancakes in the office , everyone seems to be interested on it ( just exaggerating ) . One of the common topics that just pops out everytime is AdSense . You might have noticed most of the blogs now have AdSense ( if your generous enough please click on my Ads LOL ) . Here is a primer on how to interpret your AdSense report . Im not an expert on the field ,as I always say , I just wanted to share what Google gave me .

Basicaly , the income you get from the tower block is the sum of all the values of each click, less Google's share. That is, it is calculated using the following formula:

Earnings = Click1 Cost + Click2 Cost + Click3 Cost +(...etc) - Google's Share

Everyday , google gives you a report about your AdSense and it may look something like the one below

Page impressions 50
Clicks 2
Page CTR 4.00%
Page eCPM $6.60
Earnings $0.33

Page Impressions (50)

This is simply a count of the number of times adverts have been displayed on your page. It includes occasions when your page has been displayed in search engine caches, so the count may not match your log files exactly. It counts pages not ads - if you had more ad units, link units or referral units on the page, then the page impressions would still be 50.

Clicks (2)

This is simply a count of the number of times that any advert has been clicked on the page - ie: 2 clicks.

Page CTR (4.00%)

This is a derived number: "Click Through Rate". There are often many different ways of calculating derived numbers, but in this example it is most easily and accurately produced using the calculation:

CTR = 100 x Clicks / Page Impressions

In this case the calculation is:

CTR = 100 x 2 / 50 = 4.00%

This the rate of clicks per hundred, a figure often used for comparing performance of different ad placements on a page.

eCPM ($6.60)

This is another derived number: "effective Cost Per Thousand" (M is the latin symbol for a thousand). It is often used for comparing ad placements and overall performance of ads or pages. It is calculated using the formula:

eCPM = 1000 x Earnings / Impressions

In this case, the calculation is:

eCPM = 1000 x $0.33 / 50 = $6.60

The eCPM metric provides an estimate of how much revenue you can expect to earn for every 1000 page impressions. For example, if you serve 10,000 page impressions and earn $40, your eCPM is $4. If page impressions increase to 30,000, you can predict that you'll earn $120 given the $4 eCPM.

Earnings ($0.33)

This is the amount of money that you will be paid by Google, at some point in the future, for the clicks. The calculation is:

(The sum of all the click values) x (Your percentage rate)

Your percentage rate is only known to Google, but if we assume a 70% payment to you, the calculation is:

Earnings = ($0.34 + $0.13) x ( 70 / 100 ) = $0.329
($0.329 is rounded to two decimal places in the report, to $0.33)

Assumption :
$0.34 the amount the first advertiser pays for the ad you first clicked.
$0.13 the amount the second advertiser pays for the ad you next clicked.
Note:
Only Google knows how much does the ads cost and it also depends on the location of the ads.

So there , a primer on what the parameters are . There are lot of articles in the internet that describes these concept further . Perhaps if you want to dig deeper , try visiting the official adsense blog or you could also click here and here for more information .

Red Hat Stays Away from Linux Desktop

2008-04-19T07:14:00.000-07:00

In a recent statement , Red Hat , one of the leading Linux flavor provider , denies speculation that they will be investing on a linux destop OS that will compete with the dominant Windows. In my honest opinion , this statement is not a bad sign for the open source community . Red Hat issued the following statement , showing their effort to continue providing reliable server solution :

"As a public, for-profit company, Red Hat must create products and technologies with an eye on the bottom line, and with desktops this is much harder to do than with servers. The desktop market suffers from having one dominant vendor, and some people still perceive that today's Linux desktops simply don't provide a practical alternative."

For desktop users , this does not mean there will be no Linux for them in the future . Red Hat is just one of the many flavors of linux . Ubuntu is the leading challenger in that desktop OS space . Furthermore , RedHat also made this striking statement on what linux is all about :

"I don't know why this needs repeating. Linux is not like Windows. It's not one company. It's an ecosystem. Everyone does what they're best at, and that's how it works"

Click this link to read more about this article.

Millimeter Wave Scanning Technology

2008-04-19T04:31:00.000-07:00

I could still remember the flashy gadgets being exhibited in James Bond films . Those incredible piece of technology that is almost , in a laymans point of view , impossible and unrealistic . I know everyone got envy with the see-through eyeglass that could see whats underneath those thick clothes of anyone . Now , that technology is turning into reality with the advent of Millimeter Wave Scanning .

Millimeter wave technology is a form of whole body imaging technology that could allow security screeners to peer beneath a passenger's clothing to detect concealed weapons. Right now , it is being used in selected airports for added security . Despite of the significance of this technology especially on battle against terrorism , the old question on privacy is still in place . In the end , the principle of utilitarianism , seems to be followed . That as long as it is for the benefit of the many , then it is morally right .

See related post about this technology here , here and here .

How to Know if Your Professor in I.T. is NOT Really Worth It

2008-04-17T07:02:00.000-07:00

This is a nice blog from a pinoy developer about IT professors . I know all of us can relate to it . If you were or is still an IT professor , try assessing yourself , it may not be too late after all to improve ...

1 He/She gives you thesis projects that he/she himself cannot explain where to start.
2 He/She brags that the computer he/she works on has Vista installed but says your project cannot run because it looks for .NET Framework 2.0. (The .NET Framework 3.0 is installed by default in Windows Vista.)
3 He/She says to you never to place a disk/flash disk on a dusty surface to avoid being infected with a virus. (Biological virus?)
4 He/She calls ASP.NET programming in HTML.
more........

C# or VB.Net

2008-04-16T07:43:00.000-07:00

Hey guys ! Im not raging a war to whatever language you prefer , Im just interested on your choice . Join the survey below and be counted .

Ill be doing a post on the differences between these 2 languages as well as pros and cons on using them . So please leave a comment why you are choosing C# or VB.Net . Thanks a lot .

Windows XP SP3 goes RTM next Monday

2008-04-16T07:36:00.000-07:00

On an exciting news for XP fanatics , the latest and probably the last service pack for XP will be available starting next Monday . What Im praying for is that this latest SP will not introduce any new critical issues to the now stable SP2 .

Read the news from ComputerWorld

SIGA 2008 - Beyond the Usual Tentative Program of Activities

2008-04-16T07:09:00.000-07:00

The SSEAYP International General Assembly is fast approaching . The start of the month of May will be beyond the usual for former SSEAYP participating youth who will join the gathering in Cebu .

Sadly , I will not go . Being a a former participating youth for the 27th SSEAYP(exPPY as they may call you) , I will be missing a lot . But then again , priorities are priorities .

Here are some basic information about SIGA 2008

SIGA Objectives :

1. To create an opportunity for the reunion of former participants (PYs & NLs) to promote lasting friendship, understanding and goodwill

2. To exchange information on activities of respective Alumni Associations and the Secretariat of SSEAYP International

3. To enhance the network of cooperation among former participants through opportunities in various social and business undertakings

SIGA 2008 will be organized in Cebu, Philippines at the Waterfront Hotel from May 1 to 4, 2008.

Aside from the SIGA prescribed activities (the usual formalities and discussions) , the Organizing Committee decided to include BEYOND THE USUAL activities. This includes 5 or 7 insti visit packages, amazing race, beach, parties etc. (Thanks Ugin for the info)

The deadline for registration was yesterday April 15 . ( I dont know if they extended it )

The Tentative Program Of Activities can be downloaded here.

IMPORTANT NOTICES:
1) No Homestay during the duration of SIGA 2008 Cebu (May 1 – 4, 2008).
2) We will not accept any walk-in registration during the duration of SIGA 2008 Cebu.
3) No selective participation, we strongly encourage everyone to attend all SIGA 2008 Cebu Activities & Itineraries.
4) If anyone decide to attend only selected activities, he/she will be charged the full registration fee of USD 195.00.

For any questions feel fee to contact the secretariat at

Secretariat Office
P.O. Box 12115, Ortigas Post Office, Ortigas Center, Pasig City, Philippines
Tel. No. (63-2) 937-6273
Fax No. (63-2) 937-6273
E-mail: c/o Ms. Stephanie Dy Tiapco- PAGLAUM SSEAYP Batch 2005 (SIGA 2008 Cebu Secretariat Head) < steph_oic@yahoo.com >

Or visit the SSEAYP FORUM

To those who will attend - "ENJOY!!!!"

Email Scam Beware

2008-04-16T06:39:00.000-07:00

I was checking my mail when I read this piece of email from a certain Mr.Salif Zoungrana who claimed to be from BANK OF AFRICA OUAGADOUGOU BURKINA-FASO saying that theres a lot of cash that awaits me if I help him . Knowing that a lot of email scams are existing I searched for topics relating to the bank stated above and the name of the person in the email . Yes , once again , Mr. Google was intelligent enough to give me email scam links here , here and here.

By the way here is the email , you might find it in your inbox one day :

MR,Salif Zoungrana
BANK OF AFRICA
OUAGADOUGOU BURKINA-FASO.
ATTN:
This message might meet you in utmostsurprise,However,Its just my urgent need for a foreign partner that mademe to contact you for this transaction,I am a banker by profession fromBurkina Faso currently holding the post of a director auditing andaccounting section of the bank.
I have the opportunity of transferringthe left over fund($18 m USD) which bellongs to one of my client who died along with his family in a plane crash.
After furtherinvestigation it was discovered that the deceased person did notdeclare any next of kin in his official papers including the paper workof his bank deposit.

And he also confided in me the last time he was atmy office that no one except me knew of his deposit in my bank. So,(18 million united State Dollars) is still lying in my bank and no one will ever come forward to claim it. What bothers me is that according to the laws of my country at the expiration sevenyears six months the funds will revert to the ownership of the Burkina Government if nobody applies to claim the funds.

My proposal, I am prepared to place you as the next of kin in a position to instruct BOA BANK to release the deposit to you as the closest surviving relation.
Upon receipt of the deposit, I am prepared to share the money with you 60/30 while 10% will be mapped for expenses that may be incured in the preoccess of transfering this fund into your account. That is: I will simply nominate you as the next of kin and have them release the deposit to you.

We share the procentange 60/30. I would have gone ahead to ask the funds be released to me, but that would have drawn a straight line in my involvement in claiming the deposit.

I assure you that I could have the deposit released to you within a few days. I will simply inform the bank of the final closing of the file relating to the deceased person I will then officially communicate with my Bank and instruct them to release the deposit to you. With these: all is done. I am aware of the consequences of this proposal.

I ask that if you find no interestin this project that you should discard this mail. I ask that you do not be vindictive and destructive. If my offer is of no appeal to you,delete this message and forget I ever contacted you.

Do not destroy my career because you do not approve of my proposal. You may not know this but people like myself who have made tidy sums out of comparable situations run the whole private banking sector. I am not a criminal and what I do,I do not find against good conscience, this may be hard for you to understand, but the dynamics of my industry dictates that I make this move.
Such opportunities only come ones way once in a lifetime. I cannot let this chance pass me by, for once I find myself in totalcontrol of my destiny.
These chances wont pass me by. I ask that you donot destroy my chance, if you will not work with me let me know and let me move on with my life but do not destroy me.

I am a family man and this is an opportunity to provide them with new opportunities. There is a reward for this project and it is a task well worth undertaking.

Ihave evaluated the risks and the only risk I have here is from you refusing to work with me and alerting my bank. I am the only one who knows of this situation, good fortune has blessed you with a name that has planted you into the center of relevance in my life. Lets share the blessing.

If you give me positive signals, I will initiate this process towards a conclusion. I wish to inform you that should you contact me via official channels;

I will deny knowing you and about this project. I repeat, I do not want you contacting me through my official phone lines nor do I want you contacting me through my official email account.
Contact me only through the numbers I will provide foryou, Further more be informed that the fact that you are a foreigner gives you the privilege to stand in as my deceased client beneficiary as my deceased client had no relation all his family died with him in a plane crash and I can not use my relation because its not accepted herein Burkina Faso.

Also I am very confident that we will be able to establish the trust that is needed to complete this deal and all that I need from the time been is your willingness and commitment so that we can end this in the nest one weeks.

Like I said before there is no risk involve as it will pass through international banking laws and all the necessary information will be given to you in later.

I do not want any direct link between you and me. My official lines are not secure lines as they are periodically monitored to assess our level of customercare in line with our Total Quality Management Policy. Please observe this instruction religiously. Please, again, note I am a family man, I have wife and children.
I send you this mail not without a measure offer as to what the consequences, but I know within me that no thing ventured is nothing gained and that success and riches never come easy or on a platter of gold.

This is the one truth I have learned from my private banking clients. Do not betray my confidence. If we can be of one accord, we should plan a meeting soon.

Futher detailes of the transfer will be sent to you as soon as i receive a positive response from you.
Thanks.
MR,Salif Zoungrana.

Going back to my school

2008-04-15T17:41:00.000-07:00

I was visiting the website of my school to join the forum and i stumble upon this very funny article by my friend Don , who also was my officemate before and was also my teacher in 2 subjects back in college .

Days before the 43rd Foundation Anniversary, I dusted off my old albums to update my current playlist. After weeks of listening to Shivaree, Kate Voegele, and Simone White, I needed some good blasting in the ear. What I unearthed was Megadeth. Megadeth typified the brand of rock I never get tired of listening to: it starts out fast, is full of riffs, grooves in the middle, has a good solo, and ends just before you get tired of it while leaving you yearning for more. Their distinctive riffs, solos, and ferocious snarl was what kept me going through the four days (plus change) of this year's foundation celebrations.

Read More on this Article.

My LINQ to XML Experience : Node Value Extractions

2008-04-14T07:37:00.000-07:00

For those who had been accustomed to the use of XML DOM perhaps you may have experienced the tedious job of extracting to converting node values . This sample will simply show us how extracting is easily done on LINQ .

Example 1 : Extracting string values.

 
XElement stringElement= 
    new XElement("Name","Marvin");           
Console.WriteLine(stringElement);
Console.WriteLine((string)stringElement);

Result 1:

<Name>Marvin</Name>
Marvin

Example 2 : Working with double values

 
XElement doubleElement=
    new XElement("Value",1.2345678);
Console.WriteLine(doubleElement);
Console.WriteLine((double)doubleElement);

Result 2:

<Value>1.2345678</Value>
1.2345678

Example 3: Converting from one type to another

 
XElement castElement=
    new XElement("Condition","TRUE");
Console.WriteLine(castElement);
Console.WriteLine((bool)castElement);
 

Result :

<Condition>true</Condition>
True

But this statement will produce an exception because the string TUE is not a valid boolean value .

 
XElement castElement=
    new XElement("Condition","TUE");
Console.WriteLine(castElement);
Console.WriteLine((bool)castElement);
 

An easier life with XML I supposed . While the example are pretty simple , the idea that it wants to convey is already there .

Happy coding ....

Dealing with Business the Easy Way

2008-04-13T19:03:00.000-07:00

Here is a funny forwarded email from a friend , named Fredie , showing how business is done . Surely , this can be seen in the philippines . Read on and reflect .

Father: I want you to marry a girl of my choice
Son: 'I will choose my own bride!'
Father: 'But the girl is Bill Gates's daughter.'
Son: 'Well, in that case...ok'

Next Day Father approaches Bill Gates.
Father: 'I have a husband for your daughter.'
Bill Gates: 'But my daughter is too young to marry!'
Father: 'But this young man is a vice-president of the World Bank.'
Bill Gates: 'Ah, in that case...ok'

Finally Father goes to see the president of the World Bank.
Father: 'I have a young man to be recommended as a vice-president.'
President: 'But I already have more vice- presidents than I need!'
Father: 'But this young man is Bill Gates's son-in-law.'
President: 'Ah, in that case...ok'

This is how business is done!!

My First LINQ to XML Experience : Creating XMLDocument the LINQ way

2008-04-13T06:39:00.000-07:00

Here is my first post (from a series of i-dont-know-how-many) regarding LINQ . Im not a guru , Im just starting out with the technology . So comments are well appreciated .

Creating XMLDocument the preLINQ and LINQ way

This post will give the viewers the idea on what LINQ to XML has to offer . To be able to see the difference I am goig to implement the solution using the preLINQ way then move forward using LINQ . This is a simple console application made using VS2008 that simply create the XML document below :

<Persons>
  <Person Type="Faculty">
    <FirstName>Dugong</FirstName>
    <LastName>Valenciano</LastName>
  </Person>
  <Person Type="Student">
    <FirstName>Kokey</FirstName>
    <LastName>Donatelo</LastName>
  </Person>
</Persons>

The application calls two separate methods to build the document . The CreateXMLDocumentOldMethod() is the first method , this method uses the preLINQ method as shown by the code below :

 
    private static void CreateXMLDocumentOldMethod()
    {
        XmlElement person;
        XmlAttribute personAttribute;
        XmlElement firstName;
        XmlElement lastName;
 
        //create the document
        XmlDocument personList = new XmlDocument();
 
        //create the root node
        XmlElement persons = personList.CreateElement("Persons");
        personList.AppendChild(persons);
 
        //create the first element
        person = personList.CreateElement("Person");
        personAttribute = personList.CreateAttribute("Type");
        personAttribute.InnerText = "Faculty";
        person.Attributes.Append(personAttribute);
        firstName = personList.CreateElement("FirstName");
        firstName.InnerText = "Dugong";
        person.AppendChild(firstName);
        lastName = personList.CreateElement("LastName");
        lastName.InnerText = "Valenciano";
        person.AppendChild(lastName);
 
        persons.AppendChild(person);
 
        //create the second element
        person = personList.CreateElement("Person");
        personAttribute = personList.CreateAttribute("Type");
        personAttribute.InnerText = "Student";
        person.Attributes.Append(personAttribute);
        firstName = personList.CreateElement("FirstName");
        firstName.InnerText = "Kokey";
        person.AppendChild(firstName);
        lastName = personList.CreateElement("LastName");
        lastName.InnerText = "Donatelo";
        person.AppendChild(lastName);
 
        persons.AppendChild(person);
 
        //print it
        Console.WriteLine(personList.InnerXml.ToString());
    }
}
 

As you can see from the code , it is a nightmare to write , understand and maintain. What makes it more confusing is that it doesnt give you a clear picture of what the XML structure should look like .

Moving forward , below is the code for the method CreateXMLDocumentUsingLINQ(). This method uses the features associated with LINQ .

 
private static void CreateXMLDocumentUsingLINQ()
{
    XElement personList=
        new XElement("Persons",
            new XElement("Person",
                new XAttribute("Type","Faculty"),
                new XElement("FirstName","Dugong"),
                new XElement("LastName","Valenciano")),
            new XElement("Person",
                new XAttribute("Type","Student"),
                new XElement("FirstName","Kokey"),
                new XElement("LastName","Donatelo")));
 
    Console.WriteLine(personList.ToString());
}
 

See how straightforward the approach is . By just looking at the code , you could easily decipher which are elements and which are attributes . Unlike its predecessor , this new tecnology uses functional construction to build the XML tree. This allows the schema to be dictated as the XML objects are created and initialized at the same time in a single line of code . The type of object (i.e. XElement and XAttribute ) determines where in the schema the added object belongs . If for example you added an XAttribute object XAttrib to an XElement XElem1 then that XAttrib becomes an attribute of the element XElem1 . In the same manner as when an XElement XElemChild is added to an XElement XElemParent, then that element XElemeChild become a child element of the XElemParent . Pretty straightforward isnt it ?

You can download the source file here : LINQtoXML.Lesson1.zip

Note: The file is hosted on a free file hosting site so if the link expired email me at m3lles@yahoo.com .

I will be posting the next part of my LINQ to XML experience as soon as I have it .

PowerCommands for Visual Studio 2008

2008-04-12T08:48:00.000-07:00

Heres another VS2008 tool worth reviewing . A handy tool which contains some useful task that would help any developers like Copy Path, Email CodeSnippet, Insert Guid Attribute , Copy As Project Reference , Remove and Sort Usings among others .

Take a peek on the tool at this website.

CopySourceAsHTML for Visual Studio 2008 : Tips & Tricks

2008-04-12T07:20:00.000-07:00

For a tech blogger who wants to show off a lot of codes , the gruesome process of Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V may not be of big help . Why? Because your blog may not be WYSIWYG and the pasted code just mess up your post . Then came CopySourceAsHTML for Visual Studio developers . Sleek and handy , just copy the code from your editor and paste it to your blog as HTML with all the CSS embedded in it to copy even the color schemes of the editor . Cool right? Well, the installer works only for Visual Studio 2005 !!!! And if your a developer working now on Visual Studio 2008 ( obviously I am ) , you dont have the capability to do that easily .

Just an hour ago I stumble on a site that allows you to download a CopySourceAsHTML compatible for Visual Studio 2008 . The bad news is that its not an installer but a zipped file containing 3 files that should be manually added to VS2008 . Here are the steps to make it run together with some test scenarios I did.

1. Download the Zip File on this SITE
2. Unzipped the file into [VS2008 Folder in my documents]\AddIns . If the folder does not exist , create it .
3. Open your Visual Studio 2008 then go to Tools|Options. On the Add in/Macro Security , add the path of the Add In folder you created in step #2 . Restart VS2008 .
4. After restart , double check if the CSAH is already added as an add-in by going to Tools | Add In Manager .
5. If you did all the steps correctly , the Copy As HTML item is already added in your context menu .

Testing Results :
Here are some things worth mentioning about CSAH for VS2008. Assuming we have the following code to be pasted in this blog .

1. If we copy lines 6 to 14 using the CSAH , we would not have any problem as shown below :

    6 namespace MVP

    7 {

    8     public interface ILogin

    9     {

   10         string UserID { get; set; }

   11         string Password { get; set; }

   12         bool RememberMe { get; set; }

   13     }

   14 }

2. But if copy only lines 8 to 13 , you would see slight problem at the first line as evident below:

    8 public interface ILogin

    9     {

   10         string UserID { get; set; }

   11         string Password { get; set; }

   12         bool RememberMe { get; set; }

   13     }

It is not a big issue but kinda ugly . You can fix this by adding spaces in the first line of the HTML generated code or you could probably start copying at line 7 as shown below :

    8     public interface ILogin

    9     {

   10         string UserID { get; set; }

   11         string Password { get; set; }

   12         bool RememberMe { get; set; }

   13     }

3. One more thing for blogspot users , make sure that the "strip line break" option is checked to avoid double spaces in your post.

The Battle Between PS3 and Wii

2008-04-12T05:02:00.000-07:00

The Starwars had clone wars , today we have game console wars . With the XBOX on a down stride , the battle between PS3 and Wii are simply fun to watch . I am not a fun of any of these two , I dont even play them . I dont intend to buy one , basically because you cant code in them (hahaha) . I ran through this humor filled video that perhaps describe what in store for those trying to decide which one to take . Well , its a bias video for Wii so PS3 fans dont cry out loud ok . I am just amused .

I havent tried any one these products but I can sense the difference. PS3 is this do-it-all console that contains a lot of features (hard drives, blu-ray, intricate games, and a web browser) that simple gamers will not even mind having . Wii on the other hand contains fun games for the bored souls looking for something to waste their time on. Its your money any way , so you call the shots .

Top 10 Made Up Words for Web

2008-04-11T20:16:00.000-07:00

It has been a boozy morning waking up with your head on the cloud thinking of what transpired yesterday. I havent have any blog entry since thursday and its quite alarming (lol). So I started scribbling thoughts and words using my handy Neo notebook but came out with few . I thought of the IE toolbar article I started writing but its still raw that its useless preempting it. I played with google to sort of look for something worth posting .

Here is an article that made my eyes roll : Top 10 Made Up Words for Web. You will be left laughing after reading the post . Funny yet technically-based made up words which I think any one in the blogsphere can relate .

Maybe I have some made up words in mind which can be added to the list . Or may you have yours in mind too . Just keep it coming and see what can we come up with .

Ill start with my 1st made up words for web

1. Adsomania - a person that is addicted and so concern on his/her website ads .
"That guy is an adsomania , he always talks about the ads in his site that doesnt have (yet?) any significant content to catch the attentions of web surfers."

Keep it coming.....

How to hide the Blogger Navigational Bar in your blog ?

2008-04-09T02:27:00.000-07:00

I found this simple CSS code from a cool website that hides your Blogger Navigational Bar in your blog ( did you notice I dont have it on my blog ?) . Just edit the HTML code of your template and paste the following code on the CSS portion .

#navbar #Navbar1 iframe{
display:none;
visibility:none;
}

Microsoft Discloses Trade Secrets

2008-04-09T01:50:00.000-07:00

Microsoft is slowly disclosing its trade secret ! Is this a move to make a broad commitment to openness or just another of their business techniques to gain greater advantage in the market? It has been reported that more than 14000 pages of trade secrets has been released by the company ion the open . Information includes details about how Exchange Server and Outlook talk, as well as how Office and SharePoint communicate with each other.

"Microsoft is pleased to announce another step toward putting our interoperability principles into action," Tom Robertson, Microsoft's general manager of interoperability and standards, said in a statement. Microsoft announced a set of four interoperability principles in February, including the release of protocol documentation, which it says will lead to a more "open" Microsoft.

Read more about this article on this site.

Sharepoint 2007 Business Data Catalog Issues , Limitations and Concerns

2008-04-06T08:16:00.000-07:00

On three different projects , I was exposed to a new product being marketed by Microsft , Microsoft Office Sharepoint Server 2007 (MOSS 2007) . More particularly , I was into the Business Data Catalog functionality where I was tasked to retrieve data from third party software and display it on a MOSS Portal . Here are some issues that I stumbled upon and found a really interesting website that affirmed my issues together with "answers" from Microsoft Technology Center .

1. Filter Pattern Re-arrangement - Search parameters are fixed to “is equal to”, “starts with”, “ends with” and “contains”. Is it possible to change the order in which these appear in the menu ?. In our interface “is equal to” would hardly be used; however, it is the first option available, is it possible to retain only the “contains” filter and remove the rest ? . Sadly , according to MTC , it is not possible .

2. Lack of handling co-related sub queries . The BDC does not handle joining of tables together unless a joined view is provided by the database. That is not what is desired. Basically, without this capability within the BDC layer, a parent child relationship requires this relationship to be displayed in two web parts (i.e. one parent web part and one child web part). We would like to have a single joined view displayed in the user interface and have that join performed in the BDC layer. This is not just true with databases but also for custom webservices . In order for the BDC to support Business Data Related List a method that supports it must be in the web service . MTCs reply to this : Not possible / Not Available .

3. Buggy Parent Child Relationship - If a parent / child relationship is used using two web parts, the search on the parent does not update the results of the child web part. Thus, if the results of the search change the display of the parent, then what is shown in the child web part is inaccurate. Only when you select an item from the parent web part, the child web part is updated. This causes confusion to the end user. This is a pretty obvious bug , its not that critical but it would be better if it is improved . MTCs comment : It's a bug in BDC Architecture

4. BDC Scability/Performance Issues - In general, we find slow/low performance when using the BDC.

5. Image Support - The BDC does not support attaching images (for example) so that these images can be displayed as part of the BDC SharePoint List table view. SharePoint list do allow embedded images, but the BDC does not support it. According to MTC , it is not yet possible in the current version .

6. More than 4 or more criteria Exception - BDC architecture bug according to MTC .

Listed above are just some of the issues I have met in MOSS . Other related issues on MOSS can also be found on the site above . Clearly , no matter how Microsoft seems to market BDC for MOSS , the technology is not yet mature and theres a lot more development needed before it can deliver its promises .

VSTO command bar face id property reference

2008-04-06T07:36:00.000-07:00

i was working a few weeks back on an Outlook 2007 OBA application which involved creating a custom menu to enable user interaction ( a candidate for a post maybe later ) . one of the UI issue i have to deal with is to assign face id prperty to the menu items to make it sexy . unlike my previous VSTO projects which involved Office 2007 ribbon interface where i have a material for looking for the appropriate isoimage to be used by a ribbon control , i did not have any . so google came in as a great help and directed me to a site named kebabShopblues which list down possible face ids from 0000-2999 together with a thumbnail .

View the article .

summer getaway at morong star beach resort

2008-04-04T08:32:00.000-07:00

tomorrow is the start of another long weekend . our group will be going to Morong Star Beach Resort in Bataan for a summer getaway . so i guess i will be out of the blogosphere for two days.

microsoft extends windows XP's lifecycle

2008-04-04T08:17:00.000-07:00

heres a good news to XP fanatics . last year the rich guys from Richmond also collectively known as Microsoft announced that they will stop shipping windows XP to hardware vendors starting January 31 , 2008 fortunately because of some moves from PC makers , they took back their statement and reschedule it for june 30 , 2008 . now heres another shocker , realizing how resource-hungry their new flagship product is ( we all know it by the name of Vista ) they made another statement saying that they are extending Windows XP for another two years ! but , only PCs which Microsoft deems ultra-low cost will be able to use Windows XP. so you would expect that most of the machines coming out this year will carry Vista . what ? yes , we may not want it but Vista will be on them .

on a personal note , i am using Vista Ultimate now on my development machine with 3.5G of RAM . its not that i asked for it , its by coincidence . the interface is nice but performance wise , i'd rather be developing on XP machines . unfortunately , this is just one of the many changes that we have to accept and we have to live with everyday . as i always say , if you hate how microsoft runs the industry , be open and grab yourself a linux . a move that i have always been dreaming about but i could not make it happen . why ? my job requires me to love microsoft !!

career planning thoughts

2008-04-03T23:48:00.000-07:00

im turning 29 but it seems like i have just started . this what happens when you take a wrong move on what paths to take . the path that i took was not really that bad , i learned a lot from it and basically these things helped me grow . i guess im on a state of trying to reclaim what i should have had (similar to what firefox is trying to achieve - reclaiming the web hahaha). career is a career , it should be well planned . so perhaps a few tips may help me or even help others jump start career planning .

phase 1 : be clear of your goals

a. know your purpose . its a matter of determining the purpose of your existence . it may not be too late to be asking yourself questions such as : why am i here? or what do i want my life to be like? . you can never be fully satisfied if your career now does not fit to what your purpose in life is.

b. start identifying your passions , skills and interest . i know of some who finished a course they did not like but suceeded . why ? because they were not afraid to follow their passion . instead of staying with their degree , they went on and pursue other career inclined to their interest .

c. identify your driving values . knowing why you need to work or why you need your career can help you in most critical decisions that you may have to make . depending on your priorities , several offers can be declined in favor of another . some of the common drives may be : income , power , influence , recognition , security , intellectual challege , advancement , environment , freedom and fulfillment .

once you are firm on what you want to be , start improving and growing . it is the best way that you can boost your potentials and be one of the sought-after human in your profession.

phase 2 : improve and grow

a. diversify your skill set . this means learning more to be more . your current skills may be giving you the advantage now but it may not last . your career is vulnerable should that technology become obsolete. by expanding your skill set you become more marketable .

b. stay current and be flexible . understand how your skill set or application knowledge can be applied in different industries

c. hone your business and leadership skills with additional education. You may have started in your career by managing network systems, but you now need skills managing people, budgets and teams.

d. be aware of what's next. the IT industry is in constant flux, and standing still could cost you. continually research both the job market and the specialties within your field that are growing. then evaluate your abilities and identify the skills you'll need to remain marketable.

e. refine your project management skills. project management skills, particularly in the IT environment, have grown in importance .

f. don't stagnate. stay on top of new developments. change jobs if need be to create dynamic change and a breath of fresh air.

g. life is too short to stay in a job or career field you don't like. if you're feeling dissatisfied at work, figure out what you'd rather do .

google docs : a threat to microsoft office ?

2008-04-01T22:12:00.000-07:00

Anyone working in an office may have heard of Microsoft Office . They have been around since MS Windows . I could say that its really a great piece of software and it had helped a lot of people in managing and creating their documents . A lot of other alternative software has been released to compete with this product . Most of these alternatives , though , still follows the same paradigm as the MS office has set and sometimes its only the UI that changes and a little functionality .

Then , Google Docs , an experimental move from Google. What this new technology brings is a new face in Office computing , online office application . No installations , no licensing , just get on the internet fire up your favorite browser get a google account and start writing office (word,excel,presentations) online . Cool isn't it.

It may have offered the advantages but not a lot of people has seen the good in google docs because they are still tied up to the old paradigm. Plus the fact that there are limited features to it . So everyday people uses the same office applications , when they go out they save it on their disks or thumb drives , when back , they update everything in their PCs. The process is tedious right? Thats is where the new google docs feature comes in. Yes , ladies and gentleman , google docs is now allowing you to take the cloud offline . Offline google docs is now supported with some limitations at first . Now we dont need to use thumb drives or floppy diskettes (if it is still alive) , just get on the web and do the office docs online or offline . Automatic synchronization is supported once youre online again .

See this article from the official google doc blog.

Offline Google Doc preview :

adobe system joins linux foundation

2008-04-01T19:38:00.000-07:00

Another move which only shows that the open source community is growing and is growing BIG .

Adobe Systems is to join the Linux Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to fostering growth of the open source operating system.

The Foundation was created last year as a result of a merger between the Open Source Development Labs and the Free Standards Group. Members include HP, IBM, Google and Nokia.

Read More from VNUNET

extending windows 2008 server evaluation period

2008-04-01T19:10:00.000-07:00

For those trying out this new product from Microsoft , heres an article from the software giants themselves showing how to extend the evaluation period to 240 days for this product.

Evaluating Windows Server 2008 software does not require product activation. Any edition of Windows Server 2008 may be installed without activation, and it may be evaluated for 60 days. Additionally, the 60-day evaluation period may be reset (re-armed) three times. This action extends the original 60-day evaluation period by up to 180 days for a total possible evaluation time of 240 days.

Read More

get new layout templates for bloggers from WEBTALKS

2008-04-01T09:53:00.000-07:00

I am just a blogger with no funds to invest on domain names and hosting services . Yes , I have to be contented with freebies . No cost , lesser maintenance but lower flexibility . I've been in blogger since 2005 , pity me , I have to deal with monotonous templates just to get along . With some CSS revisions , I managed to do some tweaking with my site . Until recently , because of the bloging craze that has been selling like hot cakes in the office , I wanted to go up further . Theres no harm in trying to make your site easier to navigate , less lengthy on the sidebars and yes , more room for advertisements be it for adsense or for adbrite . I really envy those who created their own blogs from scratch (e.g. Chris , Rod , Ryan), they have all the flexibility at hand .

So I began looking for the most intuitive layout that i could find . Unlike before , my eye for three column blogs have changed , i started liking it . So i begun looking for ways to make my layout use 3 columns . I looked at the HTML file for some clues but i may have been in a hurry to look further . So i consulted Mr. Google again , surely my friend has been intelligent today . Google pointed me to a site that contains downloadable templates for bloggers . These templates can be later uploaded to your own blog site . What caught my attention was it now uses three column layout . Just what I've been looking for .

So for those desperate bloggers out there wanting another layout for their steriotype blogs try visiting WEBTALKS , a site that contains some existing blogger template with 3 column layouts . No more looking at the HTML file or deciphering CSS files , just upload it and the rest is magic . Just a caution though , when changing templates , backup whatever widgets you ave added to your blog , the change in template will erase most of them.

model view presenter from a gurus point of view

2008-04-01T03:06:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to an article about the model view presenter design pattern . The article was created by one of the gurus in the field , Rod Cerrada. The article is very informative and easy to understand . It contains practical scenarios where MVP can be applied in the design process. The article contains a downloadable solution file which can be opened by the users to actually see how the code works. A very good and helpful article for those trying to study MVP .

Read the article at this link.

Goodluck Rod , it was a great honor working with you.

adobe photoshop online !!!

2008-03-31T20:14:00.000-07:00

i was having a hard time looking for an adobe photoshop installer just a week ago only to find out that there is an Adobe Photoshop Online . the site offers limited capabilities but it allows newbie users to get a feel to what photoshop can do. they do not even have to go through the process of looking for a software to install in their machine. just get into your IE or Firefox installer and you are ready to go.

Heres the write up taken from www.yahoo.com.

Adobe has launched a public beta of its web-based Photoshop Express image editor aimed at average consumers who want to quickly touch-up their photos and share them with friends online. Similar to Flickr, the service offers users two gigabytes of online storage, but does set some limits, so photos can't be bigger than 4,000 pixels in height and width or 10 megabytes.

Either way, the service is very handy for beginners looking for a simple image-editing application. Some of the basic editing functions in Photoshop Express include red-eye removal, auto correct, crop and rotate. Filters that let you add highlights, soft focus, saturation, and sharpness to your photos are also available.

You do have to set up an account to start using the service, but I thought it was worthwhile especially if want to correct some of your older photos. Once logged in you can allow the service to automatically connect to sites like Picasa, Photobucket, and Facebook.

After authorizing the application to work with Facebook, all my images were immediately uploaded to the new service, which I found quite useful. Once the images show up in your new Photoshop Express account, you can edit them and save any changes to your Facebook account.

The image editing application is Flash based, so you do need to have that installed. You'll also need a computer running Windows XP or Vista or Mac OS 10.4. Overall, the application

Test Drive the Adobe Photoshop Online.

ten reasons why you should date a geek

2008-03-30T07:44:00.000-07:00

i was scavenging on my inbox when i found this funny article that sent to a friend of mine.i saw this almost 2 years ago in DEVPINOY so i guess i posting it now in my blog.

1. Geeks are useful, they can fix your desktop, laptop, … Those skills are very useful and can make your life run smooth.

2. They are romantic than they're given credit for. Their idea of romance might be making up a web-page abut about you. But hey it lasts longer than flowers and you can show your friends.

3. They've got brains and they're usually very well educated.

4. They're relatively low-maintenance. So there will be no complicated dinners needed. And if you're not the best cook, you can order a pizza.

5. You won't have to worry about what he's doing. You'll probably find him at his computer.

6. They trust you, so you can be yourself around them. You like to walk around the house in a ratty t-shirt for comfort? He won't care. They won't get pissy if you don't wear make-up or don't want to bother primping your hair.

7. He will make you shine everywhere you go. No matter how clumsy you sense of style, no matter how awkward your social skills, you'll be a fashion star and a classy diplomat next to your geek. He'll make you look so good; you'll fall in love with yourself.

8. If you are not into computers, TVs and DVD and you don't care about being popular and fashionable. What about the newest techie gadgets? You are going to be a proud owner of the latest gadgets if you ever decide to date a geek.

9. He won't cheat on you either. Place the sexiest woman on earth in a room with a geek, say Angelina Jolie. At the other corner of the room, place the latest model of some computer or other. I am willing to bet that your geek would want to play with that computer much more than getting to know Angelina Jolie. In fact, he might not even see her if the computer is on and connected to the Internet. C'mmon he has to check his email, surf the web and blog about the fact that he is in a room with Angelina Jolie.

10. The final reason is: They actually give a damn about you. Not how you look (though that's a plus), not how skinny you are, not how much make-up you primp yourself up with, but they like you for you.

im not saying that these reasons should keep the hopes up of those desperate geeks waiting for someone to get laid with. extra effort is needed , you can just stay there infront of your machine expecting someone from another gender to bump into you and ask you out.

signs to look for when to leave your job

2008-03-29T05:44:00.000-07:00

In relations to resign patterns , im trying help those in a dilemna of trying to determine when is the right time . Like any somewhat-geek would do , i called my bestfriend , Mr. Google. Generously , like he always does ,he gave me a series of points to ponder from different sites . Read on and ask yourself , "Have I seen these signs?".

1. You are getting sick . Stress has gotten into you and your health has been suffering a lot because of tremendous pressures from above. If your health is suffering physically, mentally or both, your job may not be worth it.

2. No room for improvement . If your company's workforce is stagnant, it means that your career won't be able to advance. An environment that offers no room for you to move up or take on more responsibility, no promotions and no rewards is not a good place to be in for long. Possibly the job began with a lot of excitement but now has become mundane with no indication of growth or change. If you are unable to see a future there, it may be time to start searching for an employer where tomorrow
doesn't look so bleak.

3. Your friends notice something's wrong. If the people close to you start noticing that you're "not the same person you used to be" or are often concerned that something is bothering you, it's a major sign that your work is making you unhappy--to the point that your mood and health are suffering (see #1 above).

4. The company is in trouble. It's important to work in a stable, reputable environment. A company that is constantly reorganizing, downsizing or changing leadership may not be a good long-term choice. The same goes for a company that provides no rules and procedures to protect employees (or provides them but they're not followed). Has your company been downsizing year after year? Are there tell-tale signs that financial woes are heading your company's way. If you see signs of financial stress on your company, it's about time to bounce before your paycheck does.

5. Your relationship with your boss/coworkers has been damaged beyond repair. Many disagreements can be resolved, but if, for whatever reason, your relationship with your boss and/or coworkers has been irreparably damaged, it may be time to bail.

6. A better opportunity comes along. There may come a point in your career when a new opportunity presents itself. At this point, make a list weighing the pros and cons of each position, and if the new job comes out on top, don't be afraid to make the switch.

Most of us have seen some of the scenarios presented above in some point of our carreer . But proper timing is still of high priority . You dont want to leave a company with a bad name or you do not want to leave your present job with no definite path to take not financially shape to move on. So before taking the dive and call it a day try to consider the following checklist :

1. Discuss your thoughts about quitting with your spouse and family (it will affect them too.)

2. Think about all your options. Can your current job situation be improved by talking to a manager? If not, have you researched other career options or companies that you'd like to explore?

3. Figure out if you can afford to quit financially. If not, try to line up a new job (even a temporary one) before you leave, or, at the very least, start sending your resume out to potential employers.

4. If necessary, reduce your living expenses to save money before (and after) you quit.

5. Whatever decision you make, try to stay positive about it. It will make it easier to find a new job or improve the one you're already in.

So there, some salient points before making a decision . Its worth looking at these before deciding on something that is so crucial . Take note that its your career that is at stake . Be responsible to whatever actions you will take.

flipping the linux switch

2008-03-28T23:24:00.000-07:00

Recently , i bumped on to a site and what struck me most is its title "Flipping the Linux Switch" . There are two words that made be stop and read about the article "Linux" and "Switch". It reminded me a few years back when i was the network administrator of a university. I was part of the team that made the first move towards open source integration not only to the university but to the whole CICM schools in the Philippines. Most of the plans were focused on the shift from Microsoft based computing to Linux based computing. A move that may take several years before properly implemented. The main reason why it needs several years of transition is its effect on the overall efficiency of the workforce because of the sudden change in IT infrastructure. This means long hours of trainings and orientation .

I have been an open source fanatic since i met linux and until now , though using Microsoft technologies on the job, i still doing some things to move to the other side. I know a lot may have tried taking a second look on Linux only to go back to Microsft. The site gave 5 tips on getting easy with a new OS. It means trying it out and not getting dissapointed in the end . These includes:

1. Experiment with LiveCDs - Yes , linux comes with a LiveCD and you can simply have a taste of it without even going through the process of installing it in your machine. You can visit this site to request an Ubuntu linux for FREE. If you want more than the live CD , try making use of a free virtualization software such as VMWare . Microsoft also have a free Virtual PC software but i had a hard time making Ubuntu run on it .

2. Install /home on a separate partition .But it's probably the single most useful thing to know as a Linux user, and will make management and any subsequent installs of your system a whole lot easier.

3. When in doubt, use the vesa drivers!.Graphics support is sometimes an issue with Linux. Many distros give you the option to configure your card if it is not immediately recognized by the system. This is where a lot of new users get tripped up. They tend to pick the driver that seems closest to their graphics card model. Sometimes they're lucky, and it works. But if you're a brand new user, your safest bet is to use the vesa driver. You won't get fancy effects, and it'll look ugly, but you will have a graphical interface. You can then search for the correct drivers for your card.

4. Fear not the command line. You don't need to be a guru to use the command line. Sometimes the quickest, easiest way of getting to the root of a problem is to whip open a terminal, and type the name of the program you want to run. If it's segfaulting, or can't find a component it needs... the output will tell you. The command line often gives you hooks to dig into a problem, whereas just clicking on the launcher might just get you an endlessly bouncing cursor and nothing to go on. Linux is particularly forthcoming with useful error messages, but you need to know where to look.

5. Ask for help before you get frustrated.

Making the switch to Linux can be intimidating, but it doesn't have to be. There is a lot of advice out there, some good, some bad, and some that just won't apply to your situation. With these five tips in your arsenal, you're well on your way to a positive Linux experience.

solving unsolvable problems

2008-03-28T22:57:00.000-07:00

In most of the task that i do everyday , there is one word that always pop out : bug . Bug or simply errors in an application usually happens every time. Even the well designed software have their own glitches. This is the reason why we have blue screens , patches , service packs and support sites.

Is there such a thing as an unsolvable bug ? As long as the bug is not attributed to the limitations of the architecture or the infrastructure , in my own opinion all bugs are solvable .

Elevating further , bugs came from problems. When problem occurs in a software, most often time its related to bugs. Are there unsolvable problems? Most problems can be solved if the proper process is done. It may not be coming up with a solution but more often times knowing why the problem occurs and what causes the problem is already a good step .

I was browsing on an article by a security adviser and though he explained it on network related context the idea is pretty generic. It can be used even of software development. It basically boils down on trying to isolate the root cause of the problem. A problem may be too big at first but once analyzed properly it may only be pointing to a few lines of code. Neat isn't it? Its easily said than done though, you have to be wise enough and utilize several utilities and tricks you know to hit the right spot.

Get ideas from the article which can be read through this link.

Happy bug hunting.

thread safe singleton and parametized threadstart

2008-03-08T06:41:00.000-08:00

perhaps the most commonly discussed design pattern in OOP is singleton . just recently , we had a "design pattern" atmosphere in our office (some sort of an atmosphere relating to "resign patterns" lol) . singleton was in the limelight once again and one issue that made it more interesting is dealing with thread safe singleton . questions like : what is two or three threads starts at the same time and realizes that the singleton class is not yet existing , each of the threads will create a new instance of the singleton , thus breaking the main reason why singleton exist in the first place . i kinda got curious of all the solutions that was discussed so i made a little code to test it .

using the singleton design pattern allows the developer to work with only one instance of a class . this avoids the disadvantages of having too many instances of a single class in the memory together with the side effects it may cause in the application .

to start , i created a singleton class that is not threadsafe . creating a singleton class can be done simply by hiding the constructor from the outside by making it private and creating a static method to retrieve the instance . below is the my singleton class :
---------------------
class MySingleton
{
private static MySingleton _instance = null;
private string _instanceName = "Marvin";

public string InstanceName
{
get{ return _instanceName; }
}

private MySingleton(){}

//the GetInstance Method wthout parameter
public static MySingleton GetInstance()
{
if (_instance == null)
{
_instance = new MySingleton();
}
return _instance;
}

//the GetInstance Method with parameter
public static MySingleton GetInstance(string instanceName)
{
if (_instance == null)
{
_instance = new MySingleton();
_instance._instanceName = instanceName;
}
return _instance;
}
}
---------------------

to test it , i created a tester class with 2 methods to test the two GetInstance methods in my singleton
---------------------
static void Main(string[] args)
{
CreateInstance();
//test the other method
CreateInstanceWithParameter("Test");
Console.ReadKey();
}

static void CreateInstance()
{
//Test singleton without parameter
MySingleton singleton = MySingleton.GetInstance();
Console.WriteLine(singleton.InstanceName);
}

static void CreateInstanceWithParameter(object name)
{
MySingleton singleton = MySingleton.GetInstance((string)name);
Console.WriteLine(singleton.InstanceName);
}
---------------------
running the tester would prove that indeed our singleton works . it prints the instance that was first created which is the one having the name "Marvin" . the creation of another instance with a name "Test" failed .

some of you may ask , why make use of the type object in passing the parameter in the second method . it will all make sense when we will implement the singleton in multithreaded environment . to do these add the following code in your tester class and make sure that you reference System.Threading.
---------------------
static void CreateInstanceWithThreading()
{
ParameterizedThreadStart pts1 =
new ParameterizedThreadStart(CreateInstanceWithParameter);
ParameterizedThreadStart pts2 =
new ParameterizedThreadStart(CreateInstanceWithParameter);
ParameterizedThreadStart pts3 =
new ParameterizedThreadStart(CreateInstanceWithParameter);
ParameterizedThreadStart pts4 =
new ParameterizedThreadStart(CreateInstanceWithParameter);
ParameterizedThreadStart pts5 =
new ParameterizedThreadStart(CreateInstanceWithParameter);

Thread t1 = new Thread(pts1);
Thread t2 = new Thread(pts2);
Thread t3 = new Thread(pts3);
Thread t4 = new Thread(pts4);
Thread t5 = new Thread(pts5);

t1.Start("1");
t3.Start("3");
t4.Start("4");
t2.Start("2");
t5.Start("5");
}
---------------------
and update your CreateInstanceWithParameter method to
---------------------
static void CreateInstanceWithParameter(object name)
{
//Test singleton with parameter
MySingleton singleton = MySingleton.GetInstance((string)name);
string timeStamp = DateTime.Now.Millisecond.ToString();

Console.WriteLine("Time :" + timeStamp+" >> TID: "+name.ToString()+" IName: "+
singleton.InstanceName);
}
---------------------
the reason why i made the parameter type object is t support ParametizedThreadStart . this is a new concept in .net 2.0 that allows the thread to call a delegate with parameters . notice the way i called the Thread.Start() method , i passed the parameter needed by the delegate . the timestamp in the output will just give us an idea how the threads started . running the program may give different results . below are some of the results i received :
---------------------
run 1:
Time :0 >> TID: 3 IName: 3
Time :0 >> TID: 2 IName: 2
Time :0 >> TID: 1 IName: 2
Time :0 >> TID: 5 IName: 2
Time :0 >> TID: 4 IName: 2

run 2:
Time :203 >> TID: 3 IName: 3
Time :203 >> TID: 4 IName: 3
Time :203 >> TID: 1 IName: 1
Time :218 >> TID: 2 IName: 1
Time :234 >> TID: 5 IName: 1
---------------------
in run 1 , all the threads started at the same time and two instance of the singleton was created ( 3 and 2) . for the second run , 3 threads started at the same time and created two instance of the singleton (3 and 1) . in some cases only one instance is created . its hard to predict the operation . thus , we need to make the singleton threadsafe .

we can make use of locks or mutex to make sure that onlyone instance is created . by using these mechanishm we only allow a single thread to enter in the critical section at a time , thus , preventing two or more threads creating seperate instances of the singleton . shown below is the code to do it using lock and mutex
--------------------
//using lock:
//declare this
private static object _padlock=new object();

public static MySingleton GetInstance(string instanceName)
{
//lock the critical section
lock (_padlock)
{
if (_instance == null)
{
_instance = new MySingleton();
_instance._instanceName = instanceName;
}
}

return _instance;
}

--------------------
//using mutex
private static System.Threading.Mutex _mutex =
new System.Threading.Mutex();

//the GetInstance Method with parameter
public static MySingleton GetInstance(string instanceName)
{
_mutex.WaitOne();

if (_instance == null)
{
_instance = new MySingleton();
_instance._instanceName = instanceName;
}

_mutex.ReleaseMutex();

return _instance;
}
--------------------
run 1:

Time :343 >> TID: 3 IName: 1
Time :343 >> TID: 1 IName: 1
Time :375 >> TID: 2 IName: 1
Time :359 >> TID: 4 IName: 1
Time :375 >> TID: 5 IName: 1

run 2:
Time :984 >> TID: 1 IName: 1
Time :984 >> TID: 3 IName: 1
Time :15 >> TID: 4 IName: 1
Time :31 >> TID: 5 IName: 1
Time :15 >> TID: 2 IName: 1
--------------------
both the mutex and lock approach gurantees threadsafe singleton . run 1 simply illustrates how instance 1 got the lock to prevent instance 3 from creating another instance . run 2 demonstrates how instance 1 locked the critical section to prevent instance 3 from creating another instance .

there is however another way of making sure that only one instance is created . instantiate your singleton immediately to make sure that an instance is already running even if no one else is calling it . shown is the code to illustrate this point:
--------------------
class MySingleton
{
private static MySingleton _instance = new MySingleton();

private string _instanceName = "Marvin";

public string InstanceName
{
get
{
return _instanceName;
}
}

private MySingleton()
{
}

//the GetInstance Method wthout parameter
public static MySingleton GetInstance()
{
if (_instance == null)
{
_instance = new MySingleton();
}

return _instance;
}

//the GetInstance Method with parameter
public static MySingleton GetInstance(string instanceName)
{
if (_instance == null)
{
_instance = new MySingleton();
_instance._instanceName = instanceName;
}
return _instance;
}
}
--------------------
run 1:
Time :812 >> TID: 3 IName: Marvin
Time :812 >> TID: 4 IName: Marvin
Time :812 >> TID: 1 IName: Marvin
Time :843 >> TID: 5 IName: Marvin
Time :812 >> TID: 2 IName: Marvin
--------------------
the output illustrates that even if you call the method GetInstance with a parameter it will still retrun an instance bearing the default instance name "Marvin" . thus , the singleton is threadsafe .

take note that my reason of passing te instance name as a parameter is simply to put a better picture how the instances are created . all of the discussed ways above are acceptable , the choice depends on the developer .

japanese rock anyone?

2008-02-27T08:03:00.000-08:00

eversince high school ive been jumping from one rock genre to another trying to look for the best sound to describe my personality . most of them actually were good, but some just dont fit my taste . i started out as a trash metal old school fanatic digging slayer , pantera to metallica . when GnR hit the airwaves along with Bon Jovi i was there . then kurt cobain with nirvana changes the definition of music to grunge , i was again there . ely and the heads redefined opm , i was again there . during the time when electronica was trying to bond with rock , i was again there . with all the changes in the rock genre i tried to be always there . but there are some points when you just get tired of all the new styles moving in so you go back to the roots . i tried revisiting the old school , from beatles to elvis to led zep to black sabbath to sex pistols to ramones and the journey was really refreshing . i did try that in opm ,trying to listen songs from juan de cruz , maria cafra to asin and it was definitely fulfilling . when emo hits the town i tried listening to some but generally emo sucks . it lacks the passion i was looking for , the screaming was cheap and the emotions are fake .

in my grand search to other type of rock genres i experimented with japanese rock . the anime soundtracks were good so i assume it maybe worth the try . right now im on the right track . so if you intend to have a sample of what japanese rock is try visiting this site http://takosashimi.wordpress.com/ . the site contains links to album downloads not just songs . comments are highly appreciated.

career insights

2008-02-16T08:53:00.001-08:00

It’s been more than two weeks since my poll about career options expired. As little as the responses were, it provided me greater insights on what to look for in job selection. Coupled with some experiences, a friend experience and some readings, I’ll try to raise some points on career options.

Job seekers can be categorized as to what their intensions are in looking for a job. New graduated tends to take any opportunity along the way. Most often times they look at these opportunities as either their dream job or just a stepping stone to greater heights. Job seekers in their mid and late to early 30s maybe in several cross roads. While some aims to find a job that could be worth keeping, others look for challenges and adventures. Those who are nearing their 40s looks for a job that they can keep till retirement. I know my frame of mind maybe different from yours but at some point we may be agree.

To make this discussion short, let’s remove the newly graduates from the picture when discussing the question: why do we need a new job? There are a lot of articles that discusses some points that maybe considered when you are in the point of hitting the eject button. Basically, in my point of view, there are general reasons why we want to look for another job.

The most obvious reason perhaps is for higher pay, there is no need of denying this, everyone needs money to survive. This is my main reason why I quit my job in a company where I stayed for 7 long years. Its not that the pay that I receive from my previous job sucks, it’s actually above average in our province. Aside from the fact that I don’t have to go through traffic jams and pollutions, it offers free college education to my children in the future. But the temptations from the outside got the greater part of me so I quit.

The second reason is professional growth which in my term can be equated to boredom. In an industry as dynamic as the IT industry , we are overwhelmed with the amount of technology pouring in and wanting to be absorbed by us , but we don’t have time because our job , which was exciting-at-first-now-boring , eats our time . We admit that any new job is exciting, but when it becomes monotonous it becomes so boring. That’s why some takes the risk of quitting and look for new source of excitement. Life without excitement, by the way, is lifeless. Some wants to test their own limits, a thing that maybe they can not achieve with their current job. Most wanted to get out of their comfort zones and explore new opportunities, new adventures in life

The last reason is a little bit broad, it may be decomposed to more specific reasons but simply it can be attributed to conflicts. Conflicts maybe personal , behavioral , professional or even conflicts in principle Why would a man earning close to 6 digit salary and who just earned a 6 digit performance bonus leave a company ? A friend of mine did it because of a conflict. Recently, 2 of my officemates tendered their resignation because f a conflict. In my previous work, numerous left because of conflicts. This is happening every day and it’s not about money, it’s about something else. Truly, money can’t buy everything.

If we entertain the thoughts of quitting our job, what are we looking for in our next job? Last December I tried posting a poll to solicit responses from the web regarding what do an IT professional look for in a job. The list of choices included good pay, job security, and professional growth and high profile projects. These are not the best choices but these are the things that I was thinking at that moment. Let me discuss the four choices. Good pay speaks of the salary; it may pertain to the gross salary or the net salary. Aside from the salary, some companies offer lucrative benefits which may offset the low salary offer. I got this advice from one of my office mates, when negotiating for the salary always state the net salary. Why? So that you don’t need to worry about the income tax and other require deductions. Job security pertains to how secured are you of keeping your job. This may include the stability of the company. An unstable company means it may simply go down any moment leaving you unemployed. This may also include policies on employment and retirement. Professional growth may refer to the career opportunity that the company may bring. The nature of job as well as its challenge to your professional skills is also a part of this. The last choice is pertaining to high profile projects. Why did I include this one , well some job seekers would like to color their resumes with high profile projects to give them better opportunity in the near future . But sometimes, this is hard to determine, you have to be part of the company first before you can asses the projects that you are handling. Yes I expected a thousand of response but I got nine interested people joining the poll. Guess what, it’s the salary that attracted the most. Second is job security.

Basing on the result of the poll, most prefer higher pays that other considerations. This is normal. There are, however, things to be considered when considering salary as a basis. Expect that the higher the salary, in most cases, the higher the responsibility and the more time demanding the job is. There are instances when a man can opt to go with a lower salary job but more free time to spend with the family and friends. It may be true that money is the primary goal of working, but there are some things that may also be important to you not just money. Some companies may offer a lower salary but with greater benefits. It is therefore wise not to be hypnotized by the numbers that you see in the offer, try to analyze further before grabbing the gold.

Why do a lot of people aim for big companies with big names? Sometimes the big bucks are not from these giant companies but from smaller companies, what do they offer then? STABILTY . Yes, a stable company with streamlined processes. A vast arena of career opportunities for professional growth through trainings and even chances for travel. What they can offer can be a job for a lifetime. For those looking for a stable job till retirement, this may be a good option.

I’m not an expert on this field and I definitely do not have enough experience to talk about this topic. These are just my opinions which may be in line or in contrast with others. Like many young professionals, I'm still on the search looking for the best options in life. Whatever decisions that we may take along the way as long as we take full responsibility of it , there will be no bitter feelings just life lessons . So o on decide and stand for what you believe is right for you career.

my “software development life cycle”

2007-12-17T19:21:00.001-08:00

Sometimes we are so busy cranking codes and debugging apps that we fail to stop even just for a bit to look around us and find relationship to our works. Eversince I entered the IT industry , an 8 hour work schedule is never enough to keep track with IT changes. You study a new technology , once you're done and ready to make use of it a new comes along. Isn't it a tiring process? In between these infinite loops of a developers daily life, i usually stare at some of photos of my son and came up with a picture of how I look at my life now as a developer in the persona of my child . Read on and take a peek at marvins software development life cycle.