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• Sync Blocker Stops iTunes from Automatically Syncing

  - by ETC

  If you’re looking to put a end to iTunes overly aggressive syncing, Sync Blocker is a free application that puts an end to automatic iTunes synchronization and keeps your iPad, iPhone, iPod, and iPod Touch data from being accidentally deleted. There are settings within iTunes you can toggle and even keyboard shortcuts you can use to temporarily suspend the syncing while mounting your iOS device. If you want to skip that hassle, however, and rest easy knowing that your iOS device will only be synced and updated when you give an explicit go ahead, Sync Blocker is a free application for both Windows and Mac OS X machines that completely blocks iTunes from syncing without your permission. Previously $22, Sync Blocker is now free. Hit up the link below for additional information and to grab a copy of the software. Sync Blocker [Zelek Software via Addictive Tips] Latest Features How-To Geek ETC Macs Don’t Make You Creative! So Why Do Artists Really Love Apple? MacX DVD Ripper Pro is Free for How-To Geek Readers (Time Limited!) HTG Explains: What’s a Solid State Drive and What Do I Need to Know? How to Get Amazing Color from Photos in Photoshop, GIMP, and Paint.NET Learn To Adjust Contrast Like a Pro in Photoshop, GIMP, and Paint.NET Have You Ever Wondered How Your Operating System Got Its Name? Sync Blocker Stops iTunes from Automatically Syncing The Journey to the Mystical Forest [Wallpaper] Trace Your Browser’s Roots on the Browser Family Tree [Infographic] Save Files Directly from Your Browser to the Cloud in Chrome and Iron The Steve Jobs Chronicles – Charlie and the Apple Factory [Video] Google Chrome Updates; Faster, Cleaner Menus, Encrypted Password Syncing, and More

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• Etch a Circuit Board using a Simple Homemade Mixture

  - by ETC

  If you’ve been dabbling in DIY electronics projects but you’re not so excited about keeping strong acids around to etch your circuit boards, this simple DIY recipe uses common household chemicals in lieu of strong acid. Electronics hobbyist Stephen Hobley wanted to see if he could create an etching solution that wasn’t as dangerous and noxious smelling at traditional muriatic acid solutions. By combining regular white vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and table salt, he created a homemade etching solution from ingredients safe enough to store in your pantry. The only downside to his recipe is that, compared to traditional etching solutions, the process takes a little bit longer so you’ll have to leave your board in the solution longer. Not a bad trade off for the ability to skip using any oops-I-burned-my-skin-off acids. Check out the process in the video below: Hit up the link below for more information and and interesting explanation of the chemical process (he talks about not quite understanding it in the video but two chemists write in and give him the full run down). DIY Etching Solution [Stephen Hobley via Make] Latest Features How-To Geek ETC Macs Don’t Make You Creative! So Why Do Artists Really Love Apple? MacX DVD Ripper Pro is Free for How-To Geek Readers (Time Limited!) HTG Explains: What’s a Solid State Drive and What Do I Need to Know? How to Get Amazing Color from Photos in Photoshop, GIMP, and Paint.NET Learn To Adjust Contrast Like a Pro in Photoshop, GIMP, and Paint.NET Have You Ever Wondered How Your Operating System Got Its Name? Etch a Circuit Board using a Simple Homemade Mixture Sync Blocker Stops iTunes from Automatically Syncing The Journey to the Mystical Forest [Wallpaper] Trace Your Browser’s Roots on the Browser Family Tree [Infographic] Save Files Directly from Your Browser to the Cloud in Chrome and Iron The Steve Jobs Chronicles – Charlie and the Apple Factory [Video]

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• How to Switch Chrome’s Default Search to International Google

  - by Erez Zukerman

  Google Chrome’s default search engine is Google. This makes perfect sense; the only problem is that it uses localized Google – for example, Google France or Google Israel. This impacts the interface language, and sometimes even the text orientation. Here’s how you can fix this and get “international” Google results with an English interface. First, we need to figure out what search query we’re going to use. Go to Google.com and execute a simple query for a single word – say “cats”. If you get real-time results, hit Enter so that the address bar updates with the query URL. It should look something like this: http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&site=&source=hp&q=cats&aq=f&aqi=g1g-s1g3&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.&fp=369c8973645261b8 If you wish to customize your search further, click Advanced Search. For example, I would like Google to annotate results with the reading level they require, so I can see what’s going to be difficult to read: Latest Features How-To Geek ETC Macs Don’t Make You Creative! So Why Do Artists Really Love Apple? MacX DVD Ripper Pro is Free for How-To Geek Readers (Time Limited!) HTG Explains: What’s a Solid State Drive and What Do I Need to Know? How to Get Amazing Color from Photos in Photoshop, GIMP, and Paint.NET Learn To Adjust Contrast Like a Pro in Photoshop, GIMP, and Paint.NET Have You Ever Wondered How Your Operating System Got Its Name? Lakeside Sunset in the Mountains [Wallpaper] Taskbar Meters Turn Your Taskbar into a System Resource Monitor Create Shortcuts for Your Favorite or Most Used Folders in Ubuntu Create Custom Sized Thumbnail Images with Simple Image Resizer [Cross-Platform] Etch a Circuit Board using a Simple Homemade Mixture Sync Blocker Stops iTunes from Automatically Syncing

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• Sound card / microphone impedance mismatch

  - by axk

  First of all I'm not completely sure this is impedance mismatch, but from what I found on the Internet I believe it is. It seems to be a common problem. The question is not as much about solving the problem as about why it is happening (if I'm right about the cause of the problem, of course). I had this quiet microphone problem with several built in cards and microphones and now with a Creative Audigy SE. There's a microphone boost option which introduces a lot of noise with volume increase, but even this doesn't seem to give loud enough sound in some cases. The mic on my current headphones is very quiet with Audigy SE without the boost but is very loud and low noise with an external Sound Blaster Connect. So the question is have I just been unlucky with my sound cards and microphones or is it a common problem? And if it is a common problem why is it so difficult for the vendors to standardize on the sound card / microphone impedance? Edit: the OS is Windows (XP/7), but I don't believe it is OS-specific.

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• How to find the average color of an image.

  - by Edward Boyle

  Years ago I was the lead developer of a large Scrapbook Web Site. One of the things I implemented was to allow shoppers to find Scrapbook papers and embellishments of like colors (“more like this color”). Below is the base algorithm I wrote to extract the color from an image. It worked out pretty well. I took the returned values and stored them in an associated table for the products. Yet another algorithm was used to SELECT near matches. This algorithm has turned out to be very handy for me. I have used it for borders and subtle outlined text overlays. I am sure you will find more creative uses for it. Enjoy… private Color GetColor(Bitmap bmp) { int r = 0; int g = 0; int b = 0; Color mColor = System.Drawing.Color.White; for (int i = 1; i < bmp.Width; i++) { for (int x = 1; x < bmp.Height; x++) { mColor = bmp.GetPixel(i, x); r += mColor.R; g += mColor.G; b += mColor.B; } } r = (r / (bmp.Height * bmp.Width)); g = (g / (bmp.Height * bmp.Width)); b = (b / (bmp.Height * bmp.Width)); return System.Drawing.Color.FromArgb(r, g, b); } You could also get the RGB values by passing in the RGB by ref private Color GetColor(ref int r, ref int g, ref int b, Bitmap bmp) but that is a bit much as you can simply get it from the return value: mReturnedColor.R; mReturnedColor.G; mReturnedColor.B;

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• YouTube's API and The News

  YouTube's API and The News On July 20, 2011, YouTube and Link TV hosted a Hacks/Hackers meetup in San Francisco for a first-person look at innovative news projects using YouTube's API. YouTube, Link TV and four developer partners demoed new web applications built using the YouTube API. The presentations started with YouTube API overview, followed by the demos of: * YouTube Direct (www.youtube.com is an open source user generated content video submission and moderation platform * Storyful (www.storyful.com was founded by journalists to discover the smartest conversations about world events and raise up the authentic voices on the big stories. * Storify (www.storify.com lets users make stories using social media. With Storify you can drag and drop tweets, YouTube videos, Flickr images, Facebook updates, ... and add your own narrative to tell a story. * Shortform (www.shortform.com is a new social entertainment medium, delivering continuous channels of the best videos from anywhere on the web, curated by our community of video DJs (VJs) * GoAnimate (www.goanimate.com was founded to provide an outlet for everyone's creative ideas. In just 10 minutes, one can make fun animated videos without having to draw. * Link TV (linktv.org recently launched Link News (news.linktv.org), an international news website that sifts through YouTube's library of news content to deliver breaking news and hidden stories to a wider audience. The beta site uses powerful new tools, like YouTube's API, to link visitors to <b>...</b> From: GoogleDevelopers Views: 5285 23 ratings Time: 01:10:18 More in Science & Technology

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• Why’s (Poignant) Guide to Ruby

  - by Ben Griswold

  You’re familiar with O’Reilly’s brilliant Head First Series, right?  Great.  Then you know how every book begins with an explanation of the Head First teaching style and you know the teaching format which Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates developed is based on research in cognitive science, neurobiology and educational psychology and it’s all about making learning visual and conversational and attractive and emotional and it’s highly effective.  Anyway, it’s a great series and you should read every last one of the books. Moving on… I’ve been wanting to learn more about Ruby and Why’s (Poignant) Guide to Ruby has been on my reading list for a while and there was talk about cartoon foxes and other silliness and I figured Why’s (Poignant) Guide to Ruby probably takes the same unorthodox teaching style as the Head First books – and that’s great – so I read the book, in piecemeal, over the last couple of weeks and, well, I figured wrong. Now having read the book, here’s my take on Why’s (Poignant) Guide – it’s very creative and clever and it does a darn good job of introducing one to Ruby.  If you’re interested in Ruby or simply interested, the online book is worth your time.  If you’re thinking (like me) that cartoon foxes will be doing the teaching, that’s simple not the case.  However, the cartoons and the random stories in the sidebar may serve a purpose. Unlike the Head First books where images and captions are used to further explain the teachings, the cartoons and stories in Why’s Guide serve as intermission and offer your brain a brief moment of rest before the next Ruby concept is explained.  It’s not a bad strategy, but definitely not as effective as the Head First techniques.  

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• The Social Business Thought Leaders - John Hagel

  - by kellsey.ruppel

  While many European economies are on the brink of a recession between increasing taxation and mounting loss of jobs and bankruptcy filing rates, there's an understandable risk of losing sight of the deeper forces at play. Yet instead of surrendering to uncertainty and trying to survive in the short term, many organizations are feeling the urge to be better prepared to thrive in these complex times by developing a more articulated long term understanding of both the opportunities / challenges ahead. For example: What long-term economic, technological and societal changes are rolling out? Which foundational dynamics will affect our companies' performance, productivity, competition, and innovative potential in the upcoming decades? How will digital infrastructure change our business landscape? What kind of capabilities will be key to compete in a market shaped by growing turbulence, unpredictability and volatility? Breaking out from a strictly cyclical thinking, studies such as the Shift Index by John Hagel, Co-Chairman of the Center for the Edge at Deloitte & Touche (See Measuring the forces of long-term change - The 2009 Shift Index), depict a worrying performance challenge that affected every industry in the entire US economy over the last 45 years. Amidst a more than doubled competitive intensity of the market, and even with an improved labor productivity, the actual performance of US firms has consistently fallen to 25% of what it was in 1965. Most of this reported value is shifting from institutions and organizations to individuals, whether they are customers or young creative talent. To thrive in the digital economy and reverse declining performance trends, companies will have to fundamentally rethink their management approach by moving from knowledge stocks to knowledge flows, from scalable efficiency to scalable learning, from push organizations to pull organizations. Based on the outcomes of the Shift Index and on the book The Power of Pull, the first episode of the Social Business Thought-Leaders features John Hagel to provide strategic insights on how companies will succeed in the 21st century.

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• How to Change the Default Application for Android Tasks

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  When it comes time to switch from using one application to another on your Android device it isn’t immediately clear how to do so. Follow along as we walk you through swapping the default application for any Android task. Initially changing the default application in Android is a snap. After you install the new application (new web browser, new messaging tool, new whatever) Android prompts you to pick which application (the new or the old) you wish to use for that task the first time you attempt to open a web page, check your text message, or otherwise trigger the event. Easy! What about when it comes time to uninstall the app or just change back to your old app? There’s no helpful pop-up dialog box for that. Read on as we show you how to swap out any default application for any other with a minimum of fuss. Latest Features How-To Geek ETC How to Change the Default Application for Android Tasks Stop Believing TV’s Lies: The Real Truth About "Enhancing" Images The How-To Geek Valentine’s Day Gift Guide Inspire Geek Love with These Hilarious Geek Valentines RGB? CMYK? Alpha? What Are Image Channels and What Do They Mean? How to Recover that Photo, Picture or File You Deleted Accidentally Now Together and Complete – McBain: The Movie [Simpsons Video] Be Creative by Using Hex and RGB Codes for Crayola Crayon Colors on Your Next Web or Art Project [Geek Fun] Flash Updates; Finally Supports Full Screen Video on Multiple Monitors 22 Ways to Recycle an Altoids Mint Tin Make Your Desktop Go Native with the Tribal Arts Theme for Windows 7 A History of Vintage Transformers: Decepticons Edition [Infographic]

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• Taskbar Meters Turn Your Taskbar into a System Resource Monitor

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  If you’re looking for some simple hardware monitoring tools that don’t clutter up your screen real estate but are right in front of you when you need them, Taskbar Meters sit unobtrusively right on the Windows taskbar. Open source, lightweight, and portable Taskbar Meters is actually a set of three applications. There is one for monitoring memory use, one for CPU use, and one for disk activity. Using the application is as simple as running the specific app for the monitoring you want (we have all three running in the screenshot here) and adjusting the sliders to set the update frequency and the percent utilization at which the meters turn from green, to yellow, to red. If you’re testing software loads and benchmarking Taskbar Meters doesn’t offer the kind of fine-tooth-comb view into system performance that you’ll need but for casual “What’s going on with my machine?” monitoring, it’s unobtrusive and effective. Taskbar Meters is an open source set of portable applications, Windows 7 only. Taskbar Meters [Codeplex] Latest Features How-To Geek ETC Macs Don’t Make You Creative! So Why Do Artists Really Love Apple? MacX DVD Ripper Pro is Free for How-To Geek Readers (Time Limited!) HTG Explains: What’s a Solid State Drive and What Do I Need to Know? How to Get Amazing Color from Photos in Photoshop, GIMP, and Paint.NET Learn To Adjust Contrast Like a Pro in Photoshop, GIMP, and Paint.NET Have You Ever Wondered How Your Operating System Got Its Name? Lakeside Sunset in the Mountains [Wallpaper] Taskbar Meters Turn Your Taskbar into a System Resource Monitor Create Shortcuts for Your Favorite or Most Used Folders in Ubuntu Create Custom Sized Thumbnail Images with Simple Image Resizer [Cross-Platform] Etch a Circuit Board using a Simple Homemade Mixture Sync Blocker Stops iTunes from Automatically Syncing

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• Numerous Unexpected Obstacles Ruining any Project Plans

  - by Libor

  I am working as software developer and struggling with this problem time and time again for almost thirteen years. There seems not to be any way out of the following problem. And it happens with small projects as well. For example, I plan to write an extension for Microsoft Visual Studio. I dowload learning materials, get some book on the topic and allocate time for learning and development. However, during the development, many seemingly trivial problems arise, for example: Why the script refuses to delete the file? Why Visual Studio does not register the extension? (after two days) OK, it registers it, but now it got broken. How to fix it? each of these "small" obstacles usually take 1-5 days to resolve and the project finally consumes several times more man-hours than planned. Maybe it happens only because I am working on Microsoft platform and many of their Frameworks and architectures are bit confusing and badly documented. I would like to have most problems resolved by finding answer in a book or official documentation (MSDN), but the only answer I usually find is on some weird forum or personal blog googled after desperately searching for any relevant information on the topic. Do you have the same struggles? Do you have techniques on how to prevent these problems? I was thinking of simply multiplying projected time for a given project by some factor, but this does not help. Some projects get done briskly and some take months and the guiding factor here are these small "glitches" which take programmers whole weeks to resolve. I have to admit that lots of these obstacles demoralizes me and drains me of focus and joy of work (who likes to get back to work when he have to resolve some stupid registry problem or weird framework bug instead of doing creative work?) After the project is finally done, I am feeling like dying from thousand cuts.

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• How to Customize the Ubuntu Bootloader Screen

  - by Omar Hafiz

  We all know Grub2 is the default bootloader for Ubuntu, but it isn’t the prettiest bootloader ever. Since we also know that Ubuntu is highly customizable, this week we’re going to show you how to beautify your bootloader. To accomplish this, we’re going to utilize an add-on called BURG, which is a Brand-new Universal loadeR based on Grub and is created by Bean. It has much prettier GUI and it supports themes and customizations. Latest Features How-To Geek ETC Macs Don’t Make You Creative! So Why Do Artists Really Love Apple? MacX DVD Ripper Pro is Free for How-To Geek Readers (Time Limited!) HTG Explains: What’s a Solid State Drive and What Do I Need to Know? How to Get Amazing Color from Photos in Photoshop, GIMP, and Paint.NET Learn To Adjust Contrast Like a Pro in Photoshop, GIMP, and Paint.NET Have You Ever Wondered How Your Operating System Got Its Name? Lakeside Sunset in the Mountains [Wallpaper] Taskbar Meters Turn Your Taskbar into a System Resource Monitor Create Shortcuts for Your Favorite or Most Used Folders in Ubuntu Create Custom Sized Thumbnail Images with Simple Image Resizer [Cross-Platform] Etch a Circuit Board using a Simple Homemade Mixture Sync Blocker Stops iTunes from Automatically Syncing

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• The Worst of CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in 2011

  - by Justin Garrison

  This year, How-To Geek’s own Justin was on-site at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where every gadget manufacturer shows off their latest creations, and he was able to sit down and get hands-on with most of them. Here’s the ones that just didn’t make the cut. Make sure you also read our Best of CES 2011 post, where we cover the greatest gadgets that we found. Keep reading to take a look at the best of the worst products, that might have initially appeared good but showed their true colors after we spent some time with them Latest Features How-To Geek ETC HTG Projects: How to Create Your Own Custom Papercraft Toy How to Combine Rescue Disks to Create the Ultimate Windows Repair Disk What is Camera Raw, and Why Would a Professional Prefer it to JPG? The How-To Geek Guide to Audio Editing: The Basics How To Boot 10 Different Live CDs From 1 USB Flash Drive The 20 Best How-To Geek Linux Articles of 2010 Arctic Theme for Windows 7 Gives Your Desktop an Icy Touch Install LibreOffice via PPA and Receive Auto-Updates in Ubuntu Creative Portraits Peek Inside the Guts of Modern Electronics Scenic Winter Lane Wallpaper to Create a Relaxing Mood Access Your Web Apps Directly Using the Context Menu in Chrome The Deep – Awesome Use of Metal Objects as Deep Sea Creatures [Video]

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• 8GB, but have to run Windows Xp (32 Bit). Anything I can do with the additional memory?

  - by user12889

  I ordered a new computer with 8GB RAM with the plan to run Windows 7, 64Bit. Turns out now, that I need to run a 32Bit OS (XP or 7) due to some software which does not run on 64Bit yet (not even with any of the available compatibility settings / modes). Is there anything I can do with the memory above 4GB in this scenario? I'm willing to consider creative solutions like running a hypervisor under XP that offers the memory as a RAM-Disk for swapping etc. ? The software that does not run on 64Bit is CISCO VPN (there seems to be a half-working solution for that) and CISCO IP phone / webcam integration "CISCO Unified Video Advantage" (there is apparently no solution for that).

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• Use Your Chart-Drawing Skills to Win a Free Chrome Cr-48 Notebook

  - by ETC

  Today Google announced that they are partnering with a number of Chrome web application developers to distribute a number of their Chrome OS Notebooks to lucky fans. That’s when we noticed something interesting that can greatly increase your odds of getting one. Unlike Box, MOG, and Zoho, who are doing random giveaways, the LucidChart giveaway is based on a contest of skill – they are picking the best drawings using their flowchart tool and giving away Chrome Notebooks to the winners. So all you have to do is create one of the most interesting drawings / charts, and you will get your hands on one. We’ve also confirmed this with the fine people at LucidChart, who told us “any user who spends a bit of time and effort to do something creative has a good shot at winning one.” How great is the Chrome Cr-48 Notebook? What’s it all about? We wouldn’t know, since Google hasn’t given us here at How-To Geek an opportunity to use one, despite our attempts. It’s sad, since we’re huge fans of the Chrome browser, that we can’t share our Chrome notebook experiences with hundreds of thousands of daily subscribers and millions of monthly visitors. Hint. Hint. Win a Chrome Cr-48 notebook from LucidChart [LucidChart] Latest Features How-To Geek ETC How To Create Your Own Custom ASCII Art from Any Image How To Process Camera Raw Without Paying for Adobe Photoshop How Do You Block Annoying Text Message (SMS) Spam? How to Use and Master the Notoriously Difficult Pen Tool in Photoshop HTG Explains: What Are the Differences Between All Those Audio Formats? How To Use Layer Masks and Vector Masks to Remove Complex Backgrounds in Photoshop Bring Summer Back to Your Desktop with the LandscapeTheme for Chrome and Iron The Prospector – Home Dash Extension Creates a Whole New Browsing Experience in Firefox KinEmote Links Kinect to Windows Why Nobody Reads Web Site Privacy Policies [Infographic] Asian Temple in the Snow Wallpaper 10 Weird Gaming Records from the Guinness Book

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• Do you think that exposure to BASIC can mutilate your mind? [closed]

  - by bigown

  It is practically impossible to teach good programming to students that have had a prior exposure to BASIC: as potential programmers they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of regeneration -- Edsger W. Dijkstra I have deep respect to Dijkstra but I don't agree with everything he said/wrote. I disagree specially with this quote on linked paper wrote 35 years ago about the Dartmouth BASIC implementation. Many of my coworkers or friends programmers started with BASIC, questions below have answers that indicate many programmers had their first experience on programming at BASIC. AFAIK many good programmers started at BASIC programming. I'm not talking about Visual Basic or other "modern" dialects of BASIC running on machines full of resources. I'm talking about old times BASIC running on "toy" computer, that the programmer had to worry about saving small numbers that need not be calculated as a string to save a measly byte because the computer had only a few hundreds of them, or have to use computed goto for lack of a more powerful feature, and many other things which require the programmer to think much before doing something and forcing the programmer to be creative. If you had experience with old time BASIC on a machine with limited resources (have in mind that a simple micro-controller today has much more resources than a computer in 1975, do you think that BASIC help your mind to find better solutions, to think like an engineer or BASIC drag you to dark side of programming and mutilated you mentally? Is good to learn a programming language running on a computer full of resources where the novice programmer can do all wrong and the program runs without big problems? Or is it better to learn where the programmer can't go wrong? What can you say about the BASIC have helped you to be a better/worse programmer? Would you teach old BASIC running on a 2KB (virtual) machine to a coming programmer? Sure, only exposure to BASIC is bad. Maybe you share my opinion that modern BASIC doesn't help too much because modern BASIC, as long other programming languages, gives facilities which allow the programmer doesn't think deeper. Additional information: Why BASIC?

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• Angry Birds Choose Bing As Their Official Decision Engine

  - by Gopinath

  Microsoft partnered with Rovio to integrate Bing right into the famous Angry Birds game. This integration has two elements: a series of videos showing off game characters using Bing to get clues and Bing search integration with the game. In Microsoft’s words Starting today, you can watch as the pigs scheme creative ways to get their hooves on the treasured eggs via a 4-part animated video series sponsored by Bing. Angry Birds will also feature search integration with Bing providing over a hundred clues to speed you through the levels and help squash the porcine thieves. Featuring Bing Image Search, Bing Maps, and Bing Shopping, the videos show Angry Birds fans how they can advance in the game, featuring the lovable Angry Birds characters.   Here are the cool Bing + Angry Birds animated videos Angry Birds characters using Bing Image Search   Angry Birds go Bing – Map Search Related: Download Angry Birds Game For Windows XP & Windows 7 This article titled,Angry Birds Choose Bing As Their Official Decision Engine, was originally published at Tech Dreams. Grab our rss feed or fan us on Facebook to get updates from us.

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• Keep Your Eye on the Ball

  - by [email protected]

  With the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa almost a week underway, the soccer fans all around the World are talking about at least 2 things. That typical vuvuzela sound and the new Jabulani ball, saying it moves unpredictably, is difficult to handle and somehow the altitude of the World Cup stadiums also seem to be a contributing factor.(Picture taken from http://www.flickr.com/photos/warrenski/4143923059/ under a Creative Commons license)Although the FIFA states that it hasn't received any official complaints, the end users don't seem to be very happy with this new ball. This brings me to a comparison with IT management and testing. When you're in a situation where you're introducing a new product, in IT terms, introducing a new application, you would like to test all possible scenarios that your end users could be using and experiencing. However, that's a very time and resource intensive process to do for every application change or update.  It's like getting ready for the big game but you have no game plan.That's why a new approach has been developed. One that's based on the 80/20 rule. Testing 80% of the application will cost about 20% of the efforts. The remaining 20% of your application will not be tested before deployment, but monitored with a real user monitoring solution immediately after deployment. These tools track all user experiences, including error messages and the performance and availability metrics from an end user perspective. Should any anomaly occur, you would be able to repair it quickly so you and your end users can get back into the game.These real user sessions can be easily converted into testing scripts, so the 80% of the application testing can be complimented with the remaining 20%.Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g group of products offers both the real user monitoring solution with Oracle Real User Experience Insight, as well as the required testing solution with Oracle Application Testing Suite. Visit our Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g resource center and find out how it's Business-Driven IT Management approach will help you keep your eye on your business ball.Happy World Cup.

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• Design and Print Your Own Christmas Cards in MS Word, Part 2: How to Print

  - by Eric Z Goodnight

  Creating greeting cards can be a lot of DIY fun around the holidays, but printing them can often be a nightmare. This simple How-To will show you how to figure out how to perfectly print your half fold card. Last week we showed you how to create a simple, attractive greeting card in Microsoft Word using Creative Commons images and basic fonts. If you missed out, it is still available, and the Word template used here can still be downloaded. If you have already made your Christmas card and are struggling to get it printed right, then this simple How-To is for you Latest Features How-To Geek ETC The How-To Geek Guide to Learning Photoshop, Part 8: Filters Get the Complete Android Guide eBook for Only 99 Cents [Update: Expired] Improve Digital Photography by Calibrating Your Monitor The How-To Geek Guide to Learning Photoshop, Part 7: Design and Typography How to Choose What to Back Up on Your Linux Home Server How To Harmonize Your Dual-Boot Setup for Windows and Ubuntu Hang in There Scrat! – Ice Age Wallpaper How Do You Know When You’ve Passed Geek and Headed to Nerd? On The Tip – A Lamborghini Theme for Chrome and Iron What if Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner were Human? [Video] Peaceful Winter Cabin Wallpaper Store Tabs for Later Viewing in Opera with Tab Vault

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• New META TAGS with positive effects for seo ranking in 2011 and beyond

  - by Sam

  Hi all, im trying to make an up to date chart of meta tags, for all of us, with their purposes, their use and their good (or bad) effects on search engines/being found. Also any body knows new/promising meta tags? I will add yours into my list so this chart is a result of live discussion and up to date. Also, it would be creative to invent your own useful meta, because we are the ones making the web, or aren't we? LEGEND P PURPOSE? What does this meta tag do in 2011, if anything N NECESSARY? Does every site really needs it or not? G GOOD wether it will have a good effect for your site to be found I INVENTED meta tag, who knows it will be accepted in a year! META "METANAME" = PURPOSE? - NECESSARY? - GOOD EFFECT? #### important meta "title" = P consice summary + teaser - N very - G extremely meta "description" = P description + teaser - N yes - G very meta "robots" = P if needed, to skip default dmoz/yahoodir listing - N no - G? #### new & promising! Thanks for input (John, ) meta "original-source" P url of whoever broke the news gets credits - N? - G? meta "syndication-source" P url for syndication of published news - N? - G? meta "canonical" P? - N? - G? #### seems obsolete meta "keywords" = P some keywords - N+G not for google but yahoo likes them meta "language" = P overrule guesswork by defining language - N no - G? meta "page-topic" = P topic/theme - N? - G? meta "abstract" = P short summary - N? - G? meta "copyright" = ? #### invented by me meta "audience" = P filteres audience: "+seniors, +parents, -children, -youth" meta "mood" = P specifies textual style: "discussion, informative, commercial, sexual, fictional, scientific, romantic, therapeutic, technical"

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• 11 ADF Mobile Apps in 30 Hours

  - by Shay Shmeltzer

  The Oracle ADF Mobile team took part in a special "hackathon" this weekend, where 11 teams of new college hires who joined Oracle lately spent 30 hours building enterprise mobile applications leveraging ADF Mobile. One important thing to note - none of the participants worked with Oracle ADF Mobile before! In fact 90% of them didn't develop with ADF previously. All they had is a 2 hour training session before the event - and that's all they needed. From that point on they were able to build great cross device mobile applications. So what did they build? Here are some examples: A mileage expense tracking system: An ad campaign analysis system An expense report entry system Bug tracking system with data analysis: Carpooling social system: College Hiring system with CV scanning: Shipment management system for Farmers: Project time entry system: For sale post-it system (with item location): Conference event experience system with conference map and twitter feed integration: It was great to see how fast developers were able to learn and leverage ADF Mobile - and how creative the teams were. Here they are in action: So how about you? What would you build next? What would be your first ADF Mobile application? Start today!

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• Indian school boy never misses a class for 14 years. Applies for Gunnies Records

  - by Gopinath

  If you ask the question “What is the most fun activity?” to school or college kids, most of the kids would say “bunking classes”. Many of us are grown up bunking classes in the name of stomachache, relatives marriage, high fever, rain or some other reason. Here is a wonder kid who is an exception of regular school kids. Mohammed Omar, a 17 year Indian school boy, never skipped his classes for the past 14 years. His attendance records shows 100% for all the 14 years of school he attended so far and it’s an unbelievable track record. Omar lives in Kanpur, a suburban in Uttar Pradesh with parents and a younger brother. He attended school even when the area where he lives was once flooded, had high temperature. When flooded and motor vehicles were not able to run on the streets he loaned a bicycle from neighbors. When he was on high temperature he just popped a tablet and headed towards the school.  Whatever may be the adverse situation, he just found a way to attend school instead of bunking. He recently applied for Guinness Book of World Records. The determination of the boy is incredible and inspiration to many young. I  wish to see this guy soon flashing on TV Channels with Guinness World Records certificates on his hands. Source: NDTV, creative common image: flickr/seeveeaar

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• Update mysql database with arpwatch textfile database

  - by bVector

  I'm looking to keep arpwatch entries in a mysql database to crossreference with other information I'm storing based on mac addresses. I've manually imported the arpwatch database into my mysql database, but being a novice with databases I'm not sure what the best way to continually update the database with new entries without creating duplicates would be. None of the fields can be unique, as even the time is duplicated frequently. I'm not interested in the actual arpwatch events like flip flop or new station, just the mac/ip/time pairings. Would a simple bash (or sql) shell script do the trick? Would it be possible to make the mac address plus the time be a composite key of some sort? the database is called utility, table is arpwatch, columns are mac, ip, time a seperate table named 'hosts' with columns mac, ip, type, hostname, location, notes has mac as the primary key. This table will correlate different ip addresses that a mac had over time using the arpwatch column initial import was done with MySQL Workbench using INSERT INTO commands with creative search and replace on the text file

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• Dirt Cheap DSLR Viewfinder Improves Outdoor DSLR LCD Visibility

  - by Jason Fitzpatrick

  If the excitement you felt about having a DSLR capable of shooting video wore off the second you took it outside and realized you needed an expensive add-on viewfinder to use it in sunlight, this cheap DIY viewfinder is for you. The digital video capabilities of new DSLR cameras are amazing and changing the way people interact with movie production. What’s not awesome, however, is how the LCD screen gets completely washed out in bright conditions and you almost always have to buy a $50+ aftermarket accessory to make the LCD functional under those conditions. Courtesty of the Frugal Film Maker we have the following video tutorial showing us how to turn a plastic container, a cheap dollar-store magnifying glass, a headphone ear cover, and some glue and hair ties into a dirt cheap LCD viewfinder. You’ll never have to squint or miss a shot because of bright lighting conditions again–even better yet, you’ll only spend a few bucks for the whole project. For step by step instructions in print form, hit up the link below. Homemade DSLR Viewfinder [Instructables via Make] Latest Features How-To Geek ETC How To Make Disposable Sleeves for Your In-Ear Monitors Macs Don’t Make You Creative! So Why Do Artists Really Love Apple? MacX DVD Ripper Pro is Free for How-To Geek Readers (Time Limited!) HTG Explains: What’s a Solid State Drive and What Do I Need to Know? How to Get Amazing Color from Photos in Photoshop, GIMP, and Paint.NET Learn To Adjust Contrast Like a Pro in Photoshop, GIMP, and Paint.NET Bring the Grid to Your Desktop with the TRON Legacy Theme for Windows 7 The Dark Knight and Team Fortress 2 Mashup Movie Trailer [Video] Dirt Cheap DSLR Viewfinder Improves Outdoor DSLR LCD Visibility Lakeside Sunset in the Mountains [Wallpaper] Taskbar Meters Turn Your Taskbar into a System Resource Monitor Create Shortcuts for Your Favorite or Most Used Folders in Ubuntu

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• NRF Week - Disney Store Tour

  - by sarah.taylor(at)oracle.com

  Disney has created a real buzz at this year's NRF event. Yesterday morning we began the Oracle Retail Exchange program with a visit to the flagship Disney store in Times Square. Additionally Oracle made a key announcement with Disney  on Oracle Retail's Point of Sale implementation in 330 stores worldwide. Today   Disney's Steve Finney gave a super session on The Magic of Disney at the NRF Big Show. We also saw Disney making an exclusive news announcement about their plans for Global store openings at the Oracle trade show stand - with a little help from Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Disney Stores have been entirely reinvented since the company in 2008 took ownership after previously franchising the retail arm of the business. They have subsequently been a strong Oracle partner and technology has played a key role in their re imagination of the store environment. The new Imagination stores have a 20% higher footfall and margins are up 25%. The Disney brand is synonymous with magical and memorable experiences for children of all ages. The company is achieving a unique retail experience that delights children and shareholders alike! Technology is a key pillar in helping to deliver on both a strong operating model and a unique customer experience - the best thirty minutes in a child's day is their aim. Steve Finney this morning said their technology has to be as reliable as a theme park ride. Store experiences are much more enjoyable when there are short waiting times and children can interact with their favourite characters through magic mirrors, mobile point of sale, touch screens and custom animations that are digitally transmitted to stores globally. The Oracle Retail Point of Sale with iPad touch screens reduces check out times, stores customer data, ensures that promotions are delivered accurately and reduces losses. This means higher levels of guest conversion, increased availability and convenience for customers who want to check availability at other locations. Disney is a pioneer. At NRF's 100th show, we had the privilege of learning from a retailer using technology as a creative force to drive their business forward.

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