Search Results

Search found 157 results on 7 pages for 'lightning'.

Page 2/7 | < Previous Page | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  | Next Page >

  • Creating a 2D Line Branch

    - by Danran
    I'm looking into creating a 2D line branch, something for a "lightning effect". I did ask this question before on creating a "lightning effect" (mainly though referring to the process of the glow & after effects the lightning has & to whether it was a good method to use or not); Methods of Creating a "Lightning" effect in 2D However i never did get around to getting it working. So i've been trying today to get a seconded attempt going but i'm getting now-were :/. So to be clear on what i'm trying to-do, in this article posted; http://drilian.com/2009/02/25/lightning-bolts/ I'm trying to create the line segments seen in the images on the site. I'm confused mainly by this line in the pseudo code; // Offset the midpoint by a random amount along the normal. midPoint += Perpendicular(Normalize(endPoint-startPoint))*RandomFloat(-offsetAmount,offsetAmount); If someone could explain this to me it would be really grateful :).

    Read the article

  • Davical + LDAP + NTLM

    - by slavizh
    I have set up a Davical server on CentOS. I've configured it to use LDAP and the users use their usernames and passwords to authenticate to the Davical server. I am using Lightning as client software for calendaring. Using Lightning requires entering username and password everytime, so I decided to set NTLM. I want my users who are logging in the domain to use the calendar server trough Lightning without entering username and password. I've set up NTLM on the Davical server. But when a user trys to reach the calendar trough Lightning first the server asks for NTLM username and password and then ask for the LDAP username and password. It becomes something like double authentication. The problem is that NLTM requires domain\username and passowrd and Davical trough LDAP requires only username and password. So my questions are: Is there a way to change something in Davical so that Davical trough LDAP to requires domain\username and passwords authentication? That way may be trough NTLM the second authentication will proceed silently and the users will user Lightning without entering usernames and passwords Is there a way I can make this double authentication to become one and to use only NTLM? P.S. We have Samba domain with LDAP server and our users use Thunderbird for their mail and I want to put Lightning too. That way they will have calendar service. But I don't want they to enter username and password for the calendar every time they log in. I know they can save that password but that is not an option for my organization.

    Read the article

  • Delphi - Proper way to page though data.

    - by Brad
    I have a string list (TStrings) that has a couple thousand items in it. I need to process them in groups of 100. I basically want to know what the best way to do the loop is in Delphi. I'm hitting a brick wall when I'm trying to figure it out. Thanks unit Unit2; interface uses Windows, Messages, SysUtils, Variants, Classes, Graphics, Controls, Forms, Dialogs, StdCtrls; type TForm2 = class(TForm) Memo1: TMemo; Memo2: TMemo; Button1: TButton; procedure Button1Click(Sender: TObject); private { Private declarations } public { Public declarations } end; var Form2: TForm2; implementation Uses math; {$R *.dfm} procedure TForm2.Button1Click(Sender: TObject); var I:Integer; pages:Integer; str:string; begin pages:= ceil(memo1.Lines.Count/100) ; memo2.Lines.add('Total Pages: '+inttostr(pages)); memo2.Lines.add('Total Items: '+inttostr(memo1.Lines.Count)); // Should just do in batches of 100 VS entire list for I := 0 to memo1.lines.Count - 1 do begin if str '' then str:= str+#10+ memo1.Lines.Strings[i] else str:= memo1.Lines.Strings[i]; end; //I need to stop here every 100 items, then process the items. memo2.Lines.Add(str); end; end. Example form object Form2: TForm2 Left = 0 Top = 0 Caption = 'Form2' ClientHeight = 245 ClientWidth = 527 Color = clBtnFace Font.Charset = DEFAULT_CHARSET Font.Color = clWindowText Font.Height = -11 Font.Name = 'Tahoma' Font.Style = [] OldCreateOrder = False PixelsPerInch = 96 TextHeight = 13 object Memo1: TMemo Left = 16 Top = 8 Width = 209 Height = 175 Lines.Strings = ( '4xlt columbia thunder storm jacket' '5 things about thunder storms' 'a thunder storm with a lot of thunder ' 'and lighting sccreensaver' 'a thunder storm with a lot of thunder ' 'and lighting screensaver with no nag ' 'screens' 'all about thunder storms' 'all about thunderstorms for kids' 'amazing tornado videos and ' 'thunderstorm videos' 'are thunder storms louder in ohio?' 'bad thunder storms' 'bathing in thunder storm' 'best thunderstorm pictures' 'cartoon thunder storms' 'celtic thunder storm' 'central valley thunder storm' 'chicago thunderstorm pictures' 'cool thunderstorm pictures' 'current thunderstorm warnings' 'does thunder storms in december mean ' 'snow will be coming' 'facts about thunderstorms for kids' 'facts on thunderstorms for kids' 'fedex thunderstorm video' 'florida thunderstorms facts' 'free relaxing thunderstorm music' 'free soothing thunderstorm sounds ' 'online' 'free thunderstorm mp3' 'free thunderstorm mp3 download' 'free thunderstorm mp3 downloads' 'free thunderstorm mp3s' 'free thunderstorm music' 'free thunderstorm pictures' 'free thunderstorm sound effects' 'free thunderstorm sounds' 'free thunderstorm sounds cd' 'free thunderstorm sounds mp3' 'free thunderstorm sounds online' 'free thunderstorm soundscape' 'free thunderstorm video' 'free thunderstorm video download' 'free thunderstorm videos' 'god of storm and thunder' 'horses storm thunder rain' 'how do thunder storms form' 'how far away is a thunder storm' 'how long do thunder storms last' 'ice cube in a thunder storm' 'indoor thunderstorm safety tips' 'information about thunderstorms for kids' 'interesting thunderstorm facts' 'is it dangerous to shower during thunder ' 'storm' 'is there frequently thunder during snow ' 'storms' 'isolated thunderstorms' 'it'#39's just a thunder storm baby there is ' 'nothing you should fear lyrics' 'lightning & thunder storm safety' 'lightning and thunderstorm facts' 'lightning and thunderstorms facts' 'lightning and thunderstorms for kids' 'listen to thunderstorm sounds online' 'mississauga thunder storm' 'nature sounds free mp3 thunder storm' 'only about thunderstorms facts' 'original storm deep thunderstick' 'phone use during thunder storms' 'pictures of thunderstorms' 'pocono thunder storm' 'posters of thunder storms' 'power rangers ninja storm' 'power rangers thunder storm' 'power rangers thunder storm cast' 'power rangers thunder storm games' 'power rangers thunder storm morphers' 'power rangers thunder storm part 1' 'power rangers thunder storm part 2' 'power rangers thunderstorm' 'power rangers thunderstorm cannon' 'power rangers thunderstorm deluxe ' 'megazord' 'power rangers thunderstorm games' 'power rangers thunderstorm megazord' 'power rangers thunderstorm part 2' 'power rangers thunderstorm pictures' 'power rnager ninja storm thunder staff' 'powerful thunder and lightning storms' 'precambrian thunder storms' 'rain thunderstorm mp3' 'rain thunderstorm pictures' 'relaxing thunderstorm music' 'reminds me of ohio river thunder lighten ' 'storms' 'sacramento thunder storm' 'safety tips for when your caught in a ' 'thunder storm' 'scattered thunderstorms' 'schemer puts his head in the thunder ' 'storm' 'sedative thunder storm' 'server thunder storms' 'severe supercell thunderstorm pictures' 'severe thunder storm pictures' 'severe thunder storms' 'severe thunderstorm facts' 'severe thunderstorm pictures' 'severe thunderstorm pictures hail' 'severe thunderstorm pictures in alberta' 'severe thunderstorm pictures tornado' 'severe thunderstorm safety' 'severe thunderstorm safety tips' 'severe thunderstorm videos' 'severe thunderstorm warning' 'severe thunderstorm warning los ' 'angeles' 'severe thunderstorm warning signs' 'severe thunderstorm warnings' 'severe thunderstorms' 'severe thunderstorms facts' 'shakespeare use thunder storm for ' 'cosmic disorder julius caesar' 'soothing thunderstorm sounds online' 'sound effects of severe thunder storm' 'sound of rain storm finger snapping ' 'thunder chorus' 'split thunder storm' 'storm 3d thunder power' 'storm dark thunder' 'storm dark thunder bowling ball' 'storm dark thunder bowling ball sale' 'storm dark thunder for sale' 'storm dark thunder pearl' 'storm dark thunder pearl bowling ball' 'storm dark thunder review' 'storm dark thunder shirt' 'storm dark thunderball' 'storm deep thunder' 'storm deep thunder 11' 'storm deep thunder 15' 'storm deep thunder 15 lure' 'storm deep thunder 2' 'storm deep thunder lures' 'storm deep thunderstick' 'storm deep thunderstick crankbaits' 'storm deep thunderstick dts09' 'storm deep thunderstick jr' 'storm deep thunderstick lures' 'storm deep thundersticks' 'storm rolling thunder 3 ball roller' 'storm rolling thunder bowling bag' 'storm rolling thunder three ball bowling ' 'bag' 'storm shallow thunder' 'storm shallow thunder 15' 'storm thunder claw' 'storm thunder craw' 'storm watches thunder' 'storms with constant lightning and ' 'thunder non-stop' 'supercell thunder storms' 'supercell thunderstorm pictures' 'supercell thunderstorms' 'swimming pools thunder storms' 'tampa + lightning strikes + thunder ' 'storms' 'texas thunderstorm pictures' 'texas thunderstorm warnings' 'thunder and lightning storm' 'thunder and lighting storms' 'thunder and lightning storms' 'thunder bay snow storm video' 'thunder storm' 'thunder storm and windmill' 'thunder storm cd' 'thunder storm cloud' 'thunder storm clouds' 'thunder storm dog peppermint oil' 'thunder storm in winter' 'thunder storm in winter and weather ' 'prediction' 'thunder storm lx-3 & road blaster psx ' 'download' 'thunder storm occurances' 'thunder storm photos' 'thunder storm poems' 'thunder storm safety' 'thunder storm sign' 'thunder storm sounds' 'thunder storms' 'thunder storms and deaths' 'thunder storms and ilghting' 'thunder storms and lighting' 'thunder storms cd' 'thunder storms in the arctic arctic ' 'weather' 'thunder storms in winter' 'thunder storms on you tub' 'thunder storms pics' 'thunder storms with rain' 'thunderstorm' 'thunderstorm backgrounds' 'thunderstorm capital' 'thunderstorm capital 2008 dorfman' 'thunderstorm capital in boston' 'thunderstorm capital llc' 'thunderstorm capital of canada' 'thunderstorm capital of the us' 'thunderstorm capital of the world' 'thunderstorm facts' 'thunderstorm facts for kids' 'thunderstorm facts hail' 'thunderstorm facts tornadoes' 'thunderstorm mp3' 'thunderstorm mp3 download' 'thunderstorm mp3 download free' 'thunderstorm mp3 downloads' 'thunderstorm mp3 downloads free' 'thunderstorm mp3 files' 'thunderstorm mp3 free' 'thunderstorm mp3 free download' 'thunderstorm mp3 free downloads' 'thunderstorm mp3 torrent' 'thunderstorm mp3s' 'thunderstorm music' 'thunderstorm music cd' 'thunderstorm music downloads' 'thunderstorm music free' 'thunderstorm music playlists' 'thunderstorm music rain' 'thunderstorm pics' 'thunderstorm pictures' 'thunderstorm pictures for kids' 'thunderstorm safety' 'thunderstorm safety for kids' 'thunderstorm safety precautions' 'thunderstorm safety procedures' 'thunderstorm safety rules' 'thunderstorm safety tips' 'thunderstorm safety tips for kids' 'thunderstorm safety tips shelter' 'thunderstorm safety tips trees' 'thunderstorm sound effects' 'thunderstorm sound effects cd' 'thunderstorm sound effects download' 'thunderstorm sound effects free' 'thunderstorm sound effects free ' 'download' 'thunderstorm sound effects free music ' 'feature audio' 'thunderstorm sound effects mp3' 'thunderstorm sound effects rain' 'thunderstorm sounds' 'thunderstorm sounds cd' 'thunderstorm sounds download' 'thunderstorm sounds for sleep' 'thunderstorm sounds for sleeping' 'thunderstorm sounds free' 'thunderstorm sounds free download' 'thunderstorm sounds free downloads' 'thunderstorm sounds mp3' 'thunderstorm sounds mp3 download' 'thunderstorm sounds mp3 free' 'thunderstorm sounds online' 'thunderstorm sounds online for free' 'thunderstorm sounds online free' 'thunderstorm sounds sleep' 'thunderstorm sounds streaming' 'thunderstorm sounds torrent' 'thunderstorm soundscape' 'thunderstorm soundscapes' 'thunderstorm video' 'thunderstorm video clips' 'thunderstorm video download' 'thunderstorm video downloads' 'thunderstorm videos' 'thunderstorm videos for kids' 'thunderstorm videos lightning' 'thunderstorm videos online' 'thunderstorm wallpaper' 'thunderstorm warning' 'thunderstorm warning brisbane' 'thunderstorm warning definition' 'thunderstorm warning los angeles' 'thunderstorm warning san diego' 'thunderstorm warning san mateo county' 'thunderstorm warning santa barbara' 'thunderstorm warning santa clara' 'thunderstorm warning santa clara ' 'county' 'thunderstorm warning signal' 'thunderstorm warning signs' 'thunderstorm warning vs watch' 'thunderstorm warnings' 'thunderstorm warnings and watches' 'thunderstorm warnings for nj' 'thunderstorm warnings qld' 'thunderstorms' 'thunderstorms facts' 'thunderstorms facts for kids' 'thunderstorms for kids' 'tornados and thunder storms animated' 'understanding thunderstorms for kids' 'watch thunderstorm videos' 'weather underground forecast ' 'thunderstorms' 'what causes thunder storms' 'what is a thunder storm' 'where d thunder storms occur') TabOrder = 0 end object Memo2: TMemo Left = 240 Top = 8 Width = 265 Height = 129 Lines.Strings = ( 'Memo2') TabOrder = 1 end object Button1: TButton Left = 384 Top = 184 Width = 75 Height = 25 Caption = 'Button1' TabOrder = 2 OnClick = Button1Click end end

    Read the article

  • Why is Evolution the default mail/calendar package?

    - by Android Eve
    Why is Evolution the default mail/calendar package that comes with Ubuntu? Why not Thunderbird + Lightning? Are there any features in Evolution that are not available in Thunderbird + Lightning? Can I use the Evolution database via a Samba network share, on a Windows XP or 7 client, just like I can do with Thunderbird? What happens if I uninstall Evolution from my 10.04 system? Will I lose any integrated functionality built into the system?

    Read the article

  • WebLogic Server???@??:12????????

    - by ???Y
    ??2012?12?14?(?)???31? WebLogic Server???@???????????????2012?WebLogic Server???????????Lightning Talks(+????????)??2????????????2012??WebLogic Server???????????????1???????????????????1????????WebLogic Server??????????????????????WLST?????????JMS?Flight Recorder????????JSF 2.0, EJB3.1, JPA2.0??????????????????????????????!???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Lightning Talks?????(+????????)??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????12/14(?) ???????????????6?30????????????????????? 2012?12?14?(?) 18:30~20:40 (???? 18:00~) ?????????? ?107-0061 ????????2-5-8 ???????? ??? ???

    Read the article

  • Accept and Decline button missing in thunderbird when receiving an invitation

    - by Laurent Lugon
    I'm using Thunderbird 12.0.1 with the following add-ons for the calendar : Lightning 1.4 Provider for Google calendar 0.9 I'm working with Ubuntu 12.04 My problem is when I receive an event invitation from outlook or gmail, the mail is correctly identified by Thunderbird (I have the message "this message contains an invitation to an event"). In the pretty little box in the mail (the one which contains all the details), there is no "Accpet" or "Decline" button... I found on the Lightning forum that this bug was fixed in Lightning V.1.0b2 So my question is : why do I still have this bug ??? Best regards

    Read the article

  • How do I reconstruct depth in deferred rendering using an orthographic projection?

    - by Jeremie
    I've been trying to get my world space position of my pixel but I4m missing something. I'm using a orthographic view for a 2.5d game. My depth is linear and this is my code. float3 lightPos = lightPosition; float2 texCoord = PostProjToScreen(PSIn.lightPosition)+halfPixel; float depth = tex2D(depthMap, texCoord); float4 position; position.x = texCoord.x *2-1; position.y = (1-texCoord.y)*2-1; position.z = depth.r; position.w = 1; position = mul(position, inViewProjection); //position.xyz/=position.w; // I comment it but even without it it doesn't work float4 normal = (tex2D(normalMap, texCoord)-.5f) * 2; normal = normalize(normal); float3 lightDirection = normalize(lightPos-position); float att = saturate(1.0f - length(lightDirection) /attenuation); float lightning = saturate (dot(normal, lightDirection)); lightning*= brightness; return float4(lightColor* lightning*att, 1); I'm using a sphere but it's not working the way I want. I reproject the texture properly onto the sphere but the light coordinates in the pixel shader seems to be stuck at zero even if when I move the light volume update properly.

    Read the article

  • WebLogic Server???@??:7????????

    - by ???Y
    2013?7?23?(?)???38? WebLogic Server???@?????????? Web???????????/????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????? ????????????Oracle WebLogic Server Scripting Tool(Oracle WLST)??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????? ?????WLST????????????????WLST???????????????????Lightning Talks?????+??????????????Oracle WebLogic Server???????????????? ¦??????? WLST? Oracle WebLogic Server Scripting Tool(WLST)???????????Oracle WebLogic Server?MBean??????????????????????????WLST????????Oracle WebLogic Server??????/??????????????????????????????WLST???????????? ¦?Lightning Talks????????????????? Oracle WebLogic Server????Lightning Talks??????????????????????????????????  ???CTC ?????????WLST???(?)????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?? ?????????????Oracle WebLogic Server?????????????/??????????????????????????????????????? ?38????:??????????? ????????7?23?(?) ???????????????6?30????????????????????? 2013?7?23?(?) 18:30~20:30 (???? 18:00~) ?????????? ?107-0061 ????????2-5-8 ???????? ??? ???

    Read the article

  • Is it safe to run upgrade with Pinned Applications in Synaptic

    - by BlueXrider
    I have firefox, thunderbird, thunderbird-locale-en, thunderbird-locale-en-us, xul-ext-calendar-timezones, xul-ext-gdata-provider and xul-ext-lightning pinned in Synaptic. When I run apt-get upgrade. I get the following The following packages will be upgraded: boot-repair boot-sav darktable firefox libvlc5 libvlccore5 thunderbird thunderbird-locale-en thunderbird-locale-en-us vlc vlc-data vlc-nox vlc-plugin-notify vlc-plugin-pulse xul-ext-calendar-timezones xul-ext-gdata-provider xul-ext-lightning 17 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded. Need to get 53.0 MB of archives. After this operation, 606 kB of additional disk space will be used. Do you want to continue [Y/n]? Are these packages really going to be upgraded?

    Read the article

  • How to sync calendar with android without google?

    - by YSN
    Hi folks, is there a way to sync an Ubuntu calendar application like Thunderbird Lightning or Evolution with an Android device without using google-calendar? At the moment I am syncing my Thunderbird-Lightning calendars on different computers via Dropbox, what is much more reliable than google-calendar. Another big advantage over google-calendar is, that I can access my appointments offline as well, since the calendar files are synced onto the harddrive of each computer by Dropbox. I'd like to access those calendars via my android device as well. The Dropbox-app for android does not support automatic syncing yet, so it seems like I have to use another service. Apart from that I guess I need to know an android app, that can access a calendar-file stored in ics-format. Thanks in advance YSN

    Read the article

  • Scripting with the Sun ZFS Storage 7000 Appliance

    - by Geoff Ongley
    The Sun ZFS Storage 7000 appliance has a user friendly and easy to understand graphical web based interface we call the "BUI" or "Browser User Interface".This interface is very useful for many tasks, but in some cases a script (or workflow) may be more appropriate, such as:Repetitive tasksTasks which work on (or obtain information about) a large number of shares or usersTasks which are triggered by an alert threshold (workflows)Tasks where you want a only very basic input, but a consistent output (workflows)The appliance scripting language is based on ECMAscript 3 (close to javascript). I'm not going to cover ECMAscript 3 in great depth (I'm far from an expert here), but I would like to show you some neat things you can do with the appliance, to get you started based on what I have found from my own playing around.I'm making the assumption you have some sort of programming background, and understand variables, arrays, functions to some extent - but of course if something is not clear, please let me know so I can fix it up or clarify it.Variable Declarations and ArraysVariablesECMAScript is a dynamically and weakly typed language. If you don't know what that means, google is your friend - but at a high level it means we can just declare variables with no specific type and on the fly.For example, I can declare a variable and use it straight away in the middle of my code, for example:projects=list();Which makes projects an array of values that are returned from the list(); function (which is usable in most contexts). With this kind of variable, I can do things like:projects.length (this property on array tells you how many objects are in it, good for for loops etc). Alternatively, I could say:projects=3;and now projects is just a simple number.Should we declare variables like this so loosely? In my opinion, the answer is no - I feel it is a better practice to declare variables you are going to use, before you use them - and given them an initial value. You can do so as follows:var myVariable=0;To demonstrate the ability to just randomly assign and change the type of variables, you can create a simple script at the cli as follows (bold for input):fishy10:> script("." to run)> run("cd /");("." to run)> run ("shares");("." to run)> var projects;("." to run)> projects=list();("." to run)> printf("Number of projects is: %d\n",projects.length);("." to run)> projects=152;("." to run)> printf("Value of the projects variable as an integer is now: %d\n",projects);("." to run)> .Number of projects is: 7Value of the projects variable as an integer is now: 152You can also confirm this behaviour by checking the typeof variable we are dealing with:fishy10:> script("." to run)> run("cd /");("." to run)> run ("shares");("." to run)> var projects;("." to run)> projects=list();("." to run)> printf("var projects is of type %s\n",typeof(projects));("." to run)> projects=152;("." to run)> printf("var projects is of type %s\n",typeof(projects));("." to run)> .var projects is of type objectvar projects is of type numberArraysSo you likely noticed that we have already touched on arrays, as the list(); (in the shares context) stored an array into the 'projects' variable.But what if you want to declare your own array? Easy! This is very similar to Java and other languages, we just instantiate a brand new "Array" object using the keyword new:var myArray = new Array();will create an array called "myArray".A quick example:fishy10:> script("." to run)> testArray = new Array();("." to run)> testArray[0]="This";("." to run)> testArray[1]="is";("." to run)> testArray[2]="just";("." to run)> testArray[3]="a";("." to run)> testArray[4]="test";("." to run)> for (i=0; i < testArray.length; i++)("." to run)> {("." to run)>    printf("Array element %d is %s\n",i,testArray[i]);("." to run)> }("." to run)> .Array element 0 is ThisArray element 1 is isArray element 2 is justArray element 3 is aArray element 4 is testWorking With LoopsFor LoopFor loops are very similar to those you will see in C, java and several other languages. One of the key differences here is, as you were made aware earlier, we can be a bit more sloppy with our variable declarations.The general way you would likely use a for loop is as follows:for (variable; test-case; modifier for variable){}For example, you may wish to declare a variable i as 0; and a MAX_ITERATIONS variable to determine how many times this loop should repeat:var i=0;var MAX_ITERATIONS=10;And then, use this variable to be tested against some case existing (has i reached MAX_ITERATIONS? - if not, increment i using i++);for (i=0; i < MAX_ITERATIONS; i++){ // some work to do}So lets run something like this on the appliance:fishy10:> script("." to run)> var i=0;("." to run)> var MAX_ITERATIONS=10;("." to run)> for (i=0; i < MAX_ITERATIONS; i++)("." to run)> {("." to run)>    printf("The number is %d\n",i);("." to run)> }("." to run)> .The number is 0The number is 1The number is 2The number is 3The number is 4The number is 5The number is 6The number is 7The number is 8The number is 9While LoopWhile loops again are very similar to other languages, we loop "while" a condition is met. For example:fishy10:> script("." to run)> var isTen=false;("." to run)> var counter=0;("." to run)> while(isTen==false)("." to run)> {("." to run)>    if (counter==10) ("." to run)>    { ("." to run)>            isTen=true;   ("." to run)>    } ("." to run)>    printf("Counter is %d\n",counter);("." to run)>    counter++;    ("." to run)> }("." to run)> printf("Loop has ended and Counter is %d\n",counter);("." to run)> .Counter is 0Counter is 1Counter is 2Counter is 3Counter is 4Counter is 5Counter is 6Counter is 7Counter is 8Counter is 9Counter is 10Loop has ended and Counter is 11So what do we notice here? Something has actually gone wrong - counter will technically be 11 once the loop completes... Why is this?Well, if we have a loop like this, where the 'while' condition that will end the loop may be set based on some other condition(s) existing (such as the counter has reached 10) - we must ensure that we  terminate this iteration of the loop when the condition is met - otherwise the rest of the code will be followed which may not be desirable. In other words, like in other languages, we will only ever check the loop condition once we are ready to perform the next iteration, so any other code after we set "isTen" to be true, will still be executed as we can see it was above.We can avoid this by adding a break into our loop once we know we have set the condition - this will stop the rest of the logic being processed in this iteration (and as such, counter will not be incremented). So lets try that again:fishy10:> script("." to run)> var isTen=false;("." to run)> var counter=0;("." to run)> while(isTen==false)("." to run)> {("." to run)>    if (counter==10) ("." to run)>    { ("." to run)>            isTen=true;   ("." to run)>            break;("." to run)>    } ("." to run)>    printf("Counter is %d\n",counter);("." to run)>    counter++;    ("." to run)> }("." to run)> printf("Loop has ended and Counter is %d\n", counter);("." to run)> .Counter is 0Counter is 1Counter is 2Counter is 3Counter is 4Counter is 5Counter is 6Counter is 7Counter is 8Counter is 9Loop has ended and Counter is 10Much better!Methods to Obtain and Manipulate DataGet MethodThe get method allows you to get simple properties from an object, for example a quota from a user. The syntax is fairly simple:var myVariable=get('property');An example of where you may wish to use this, is when you are getting a bunch of information about a user (such as quota information when in a shares context):var users=list();for(k=0; k < users.length; k++){     user=users[k];     run('select ' + user);     var username=get('name');     var usage=get('usage');     var quota=get('quota');...Which you can then use to your advantage - to print or manipulate infomation (you could change a user's information with a set method, based on the information returned from the get method). The set method is explained next.Set MethodThe set method can be used in a simple manner, similar to get. The syntax for set is:set('property','value'); // where value is a string, if it was a number, you don't need quotesFor example, we could set the quota on a share as follows (first observing the initial value):fishy10:shares default/test-geoff> script("." to run)> var currentQuota=get('quota');("." to run)> printf("Current Quota is: %s\n",currentQuota);("." to run)> set('quota','30G');("." to run)> run('commit');("." to run)> currentQuota=get('quota');("." to run)> printf("Current Quota is: %s\n",currentQuota);("." to run)> .Current Quota is: 0Current Quota is: 32212254720This shows us using both the get and set methods as can be used in scripts, of course when only setting an individual share, the above is overkill - it would be much easier to set it manually at the cli using 'set quota=3G' and then 'commit'.List MethodThe list method can be very powerful, especially in more complex scripts which iterate over large amounts of data and manipulate it if so desired. The general way you will use list is as follows:var myVar=list();Which will make "myVar" an array, containing all the objects in the relevant context (this could be a list of users, shares, projects, etc). You can then gather or manipulate data very easily.We could list all the shares and mountpoints in a given project for example:fishy10:shares another-project> script("." to run)> var shares=list();("." to run)> for (i=0; i < shares.length; i++)("." to run)> {("." to run)>    run('select ' + shares[i]);("." to run)>    var mountpoint=get('mountpoint');("." to run)>    printf("Share %s discovered, has mountpoint %s\n",shares[i],mountpoint);("." to run)>    run('done');("." to run)> }("." to run)> .Share and-another discovered, has mountpoint /export/another-project/and-anotherShare another-share discovered, has mountpoint /export/another-project/another-shareShare bob discovered, has mountpoint /export/another-projectShare more-shares-for-all discovered, has mountpoint /export/another-project/more-shares-for-allShare yep discovered, has mountpoint /export/another-project/yepWriting More Complex and Re-Usable CodeFunctionsThe best way to be able to write more complex code is to use functions to split up repeatable or reusable sections of your code. This also makes your more complex code easier to read and understand for other programmers.We write functions as follows:function functionName(variable1,variable2,...,variableN){}For example, we could have a function that takes a project name as input, and lists shares for that project (assuming we're already in the 'project' context - context is important!):function getShares(proj){        run('select ' + proj);        shares=list();        printf("Project: %s\n", proj);        for(j=0; j < shares.length; j++)        {                printf("Discovered share: %s\n",shares[i]);        }        run('done'); // exit selected project}Commenting your CodeLike any other language, a large part of making it readable and understandable is to comment it. You can use the same comment style as in C and Java amongst other languages.In other words, sngle line comments use://at the beginning of the comment.Multi line comments use:/*at the beginning, and:*/ at the end.For example, here we will use both:fishy10:> script("." to run)> // This is a test comment("." to run)> printf("doing some work...\n");("." to run)> /* This is a multi-line("." to run)> comment which I will span across("." to run)> three lines in total */("." to run)> printf("doing some more work...\n");("." to run)> .doing some work...doing some more work...Your comments do not have to be on their own, they can begin (particularly with single line comments this is handy) at the end of a statement, for examplevar projects=list(); // The variable projects is an array containing all projects on the system.Try and Catch StatementsYou may be used to using try and catch statements in other languages, and they can (and should) be utilised in your code to catch expected or unexpected error conditions, that you do NOT wish to stop your code from executing (if you do not catch these errors, your script will exit!):try{  // do some work}catch(err) // Catch any error that could occur{ // do something here under the error condition}For example, you may wish to only execute some code if a context can be reached. If you can't perform certain actions under certain circumstances, that may be perfectly acceptable.For example if you want to test a condition that only makes sense when looking at a SMB/NFS share, but does not make sense when you hit an iscsi or FC LUN, you don't want to stop all processing of other shares you may not have covered yet.For example we may wish to obtain quota information on all shares for all users on a share (but this makes no sense for a LUN):function getShareQuota(shar) // Get quota for each user of this share{        run('select ' + shar);        printf("  SHARE: %s\n", shar);        try        {                run('users');                printf("    %20s        %11s    %11s    %3s\n","Username","Usage(G)","Quota(G)","Quota(%)");                printf("    %20s        %11s    %11s    %4s\n","--------","--------","--------","----");                                users=list();                for(k=0; k < users.length; k++)                {                        user=users[k];                        getUserQuota(user);                }                run('done'); // exit user context        }        catch(err)        {                printf("    SKIPPING %s - This is NOT a NFS or CIFs share, not looking for users\n", shar);        }        run('done'); // done with this share}Running Scripts Remotely over SSHAs you have likely noticed, writing and running scripts for all but the simplest jobs directly on the appliance is not going to be a lot of fun.There's a couple of choices on what you can do here:Create scripts on a remote system and run them over sshCreate scripts, wrapping them in workflow code, so they are stored on the appliance and can be triggered under certain circumstances (like a threshold being reached)We'll cover the first one here, and then cover workflows later on (as these are for the most part just scripts with some wrapper information around them).Creating a SSH Public/Private SSH Key PairLog on to your handy Solaris box (You wouldn't be using any other OS, right? :P) and use ssh-keygen to create a pair of ssh keys. I'm storing this separate to my normal key:[geoff@lightning ~] ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 1024Generating public/private rsa key pair.Enter file in which to save the key (/export/home/geoff/.ssh/id_rsa): /export/home/geoff/.ssh/nas_key_rsaEnter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): Enter same passphrase again: Your identification has been saved in /export/home/geoff/.ssh/nas_key_rsa.Your public key has been saved in /export/home/geoff/.ssh/nas_key_rsa.pub.The key fingerprint is:7f:3d:53:f0:2a:5e:8b:2d:94:2a:55:77:66:5c:9b:14 geoff@lightningInstalling the Public Key on the ApplianceOn your Solaris host, observe the public key:[geoff@lightning ~] cat .ssh/nas_key_rsa.pub ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAABIwAAAIEAvYfK3RIaAYmMHBOvyhKM41NaSmcgUMC3igPN5gUKJQvSnYmjuWG6CBr1CkF5UcDji7v19jG3qAD5lAMFn+L0CxgRr8TNaAU+hA4/tpAGkjm+dKYSyJgEdMIURweyyfUFXoerweR8AWW5xlovGKEWZTAfvJX9Zqvh8oMQ5UJLUUc= geoff@lightningNow, copy and paste everything after "ssh-rsa" and before "user@hostname" - in this case, geoff@lightning. That is, this bit:AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAABIwAAAIEAvYfK3RIaAYmMHBOvyhKM41NaSmcgUMC3igPN5gUKJQvSnYmjuWG6CBr1CkF5UcDji7v19jG3qAD5lAMFn+L0CxgRr8TNaAU+hA4/tpAGkjm+dKYSyJgEdMIURweyyfUFXoerweR8AWW5xlovGKEWZTAfvJX9Zqvh8oMQ5UJLUUc=Logon to your appliance and get into the preferences -> keys area for this user (root):[geoff@lightning ~] ssh [email protected]: Last login: Mon Dec  6 17:13:28 2010 from 192.168.0.2fishy10:> configuration usersfishy10:configuration users> select rootfishy10:configuration users root> preferences fishy10:configuration users root preferences> keysOR do it all in one hit:fishy10:> configuration users select root preferences keysNow, we create a new public key that will be accepted for this user and set the type to RSA:fishy10:configuration users root preferences keys> createfishy10:configuration users root preferences key (uncommitted)> set type=RSASet the key itself using the string copied previously (between ssh-rsa and user@host), and set the key ensuring you put double quotes around it (eg. set key="<key>"):fishy10:configuration users root preferences key (uncommitted)> set key="AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAABIwAAAIEAvYfK3RIaAYmMHBOvyhKM41NaSmcgUMC3igPN5gUKJQvSnYmjuWG6CBr1CkF5UcDji7v19jG3qAD5lAMFn+L0CxgRr8TNaAU+hA4/tpAGkjm+dKYSyJgEdMIURweyyfUFXoerweR8AWW5xlovGKEWZTAfvJX9Zqvh8oMQ5UJLUUc="Now set the comment for this key (do not use spaces):fishy10:configuration users root preferences key (uncommitted)> set comment="LightningRSAKey" Commit the new key:fishy10:configuration users root preferences key (uncommitted)> commitVerify the key is there:fishy10:configuration users root preferences keys> lsKeys:NAME     MODIFIED              TYPE   COMMENT                                  key-000  2010-10-25 20:56:42   RSA    cycloneRSAKey                           key-001  2010-12-6 17:44:53    RSA    LightningRSAKey                         As you can see, we now have my new key, and a previous key I have created on this appliance.Running your Script over SSH from a Remote SystemHere I have created a basic test script, and saved it as test.ecma3:[geoff@lightning ~] cat test.ecma3 script// This is a test script, By Geoff Ongley 2010.printf("Testing script remotely over ssh\n");.Now, we can run this script remotely with our keyless login:[geoff@lightning ~] ssh -i .ssh/nas_key_rsa root@fishy10 < test.ecma3Pseudo-terminal will not be allocated because stdin is not a terminal.Testing script remotely over sshPutting it Together - An Example Completed Quota Gathering ScriptSo now we have a lot of the basics to creating a script, let us do something useful, like, find out how much every user is using, on every share on the system (you will recognise some of the code from my previous examples): script/************************************** Quick and Dirty Quota Check script ** Written By Geoff Ongley            ** 25 October 2010                    **************************************/function getUserQuota(usr){        run('select ' + usr);        var username=get('name');        var usage=get('usage');        var quota=get('quota');        var usage_g=usage / 1073741824; // convert bytes to gigabytes        var quota_g=quota / 1073741824; // as above        var quota_percent=0        if (quota > 0)        {                quota_percent=(usage / quota)*(100/1);        }        printf("    %20s        %8.2f           %8.2f           %d%%\n",username,usage_g,quota_g,quota_percent);        run('done'); // done with this selected user}function getShareQuota(shar){        //printf("DEBUG: selecting share %s\n", shar);        run('select ' + shar);        printf("  SHARE: %s\n", shar);        try        {                run('users');                printf("    %20s        %11s    %11s    %3s\n","Username","Usage(G)","Quota(G)","Quota(%)");                printf("    %20s        %11s    %11s    %4s\n","--------","--------","--------","--------");                                users=list();                for(k=0; k < users.length; k++)                {                        user=users[k];                        getUserQuota(user);                }                run('done'); // exit user context        }        catch(err)        {                printf("    SKIPPING %s - This is NOT a NFS or CIFs share, not looking for users\n", shar);        }        run('done'); // done with this share}function getShares(proj){        //printf("DEBUG: selecting project %s\n",proj);        run('select ' + proj);        shares=list();        printf("Project: %s\n", proj);        for(j=0; j < shares.length; j++)        {                share=shares[j];                getShareQuota(share);        }        run('done'); // exit selected project}function getProjects(){        run('cd /');        run('shares');        projects=list();                for (i=0; i < projects.length; i++)        {                var project=projects[i];                getShares(project);        }        run('done'); // exit context for all projects}getProjects();.Which can be run as follows, and will print information like this:[geoff@lightning ~/FISHWORKS_SCRIPTS] ssh -i ~/.ssh/nas_key_rsa root@fishy10 < get_quota_utilisation.ecma3Pseudo-terminal will not be allocated because stdin is not a terminal.Project: another-project  SHARE: and-another                Username           Usage(G)       Quota(G)    Quota(%)                --------           --------       --------    --------                  nobody            0.00            0.00        0%                 geoffro            0.05            0.00        0%                   Billy            0.10            0.00        0%                    root            0.00            0.00        0%            testing-user            0.05            0.00        0%  SHARE: another-share                Username           Usage(G)       Quota(G)    Quota(%)                --------           --------       --------    --------                    root            0.00            0.00        0%                  nobody            0.00            0.00        0%                 geoffro            0.05            0.49        9%            testing-user            0.05            0.02        249%                   Billy            0.10            0.29        33%  SHARE: bob                Username           Usage(G)       Quota(G)    Quota(%)                --------           --------       --------    --------                  nobody            0.00            0.00        0%                    root            0.00            0.00        0%  SHARE: more-shares-for-all                Username           Usage(G)       Quota(G)    Quota(%)                --------           --------       --------    --------                   Billy            0.10            0.00        0%            testing-user            0.05            0.00        0%                  nobody            0.00            0.00        0%                    root            0.00            0.00        0%                 geoffro            0.05            0.00        0%  SHARE: yep                Username           Usage(G)       Quota(G)    Quota(%)                --------           --------       --------    --------                    root            0.00            0.00        0%                  nobody            0.00            0.00        0%                   Billy            0.10            0.01        999%            testing-user            0.05            0.49        9%                 geoffro            0.05            0.00        0%Project: default  SHARE: Test-LUN    SKIPPING Test-LUN - This is NOT a NFS or CIFs share, not looking for users  SHARE: test-geoff                Username           Usage(G)       Quota(G)    Quota(%)                --------           --------       --------    --------                 geoffro            0.05            0.00        0%                    root            3.18           10.00        31%                    uucp            0.00            0.00        0%                  nobody            0.59            0.49        119%^CKilled by signal 2.Creating a WorkflowWorkflows are scripts that we store on the appliance, and can have the script execute either on request (even from the BUI), or on an event such as a threshold being met.Workflow BasicsA workflow allows you to create a simple process that can be executed either via the BUI interface interactively, or by an alert being raised (for some threshold being reached, for example).The basics parameters you will have to set for your "workflow object" (notice you're creating a variable, that embodies ECMAScript) are as follows (parameters is optional):name: A name for this workflowdescription: A Description for the workflowparameters: A set of input parameters (useful when you need user input to execute the workflow)execute: The code, the script itself to execute, which will be function (parameters)With parameters, you can specify things like this (slightly modified sample taken from the System Administration Guide):          ...parameters:        variableParam1:         {                             label: 'Name of Share',                             type: 'String'                  },                  variableParam2                  {                             label: 'Share Size',                             type: 'size'                  },execute: ....};  Note the commas separating the sections of name, parameters, execute, and so on. This is important!Also - there is plenty of properties you can set on the parameters for your workflow, these are described in the Sun ZFS Storage System Administration Guide.Creating a Basic Workflow from a Basic ScriptTo make a basic script into a basic workflow, you need to wrap the following around your script to create a 'workflow' object:var workflow = {name: 'Get User Quotas',description: 'Displays Quota Utilisation for each user on each share',execute: function() {// (basic script goes here, minus the "script" at the beginning, and "." at the end)}};However, it appears (at least in my experience to date) that the workflow object may only be happy with one function in the execute parameter - either that or I'm doing something wrong. As far as I can tell, after execute: you should only have a basic one function context like so:execute: function(){}To deal with this, and to give an example similar to our script earlier, I have created another simple quota check, to show the same basic functionality, but in a workflow format:var workflow = {name: 'Get User Quotas',description: 'Displays Quota Utilisation for each user on each share',execute: function () {        run('cd /');        run('shares');        projects=list();                for (i=0; i < projects.length; i++)        {                run('select ' + projects[i]);                shares=list('filesystem');                printf("Project: %s\n", projects[i]);                for(j=0; j < shares.length; j++)                {                        run('select ' +shares[j]);                        try                        {                                run('users');                                printf("  SHARE: %s\n", shares[j]);                                printf("    %20s        %11s    %11s    %3s\n","Username","Usage(G)","Quota(G)","Quota(%)");                                printf("    %20s        %11s    %11s    %4s\n","--------","--------","--------","-------");                                users=list();                                for(k=0; k < users.length; k++)                                {                                        run('select ' + users[k]);                                        username=get('name');                                        usage=get('usage');                                        quota=get('quota');                                        usage_g=usage / 1073741824; // convert bytes to gigabytes                                        quota_g=quota / 1073741824; // as above                                        quota_percent=0                                        if (quota > 0)                                        {                                                quota_percent=(usage / quota)*(100/1);                                        }                                        printf("    %20s        %8.2f   %8.2f   %d%%\n",username,usage_g,quota_g,quota_percent);                                        run('done');                                }                                run('done'); // exit user context                        }                        catch(err)                        {                        //      printf("    %s is a LUN, Not looking for users\n", shares[j]);                        }                        run('done'); // exit selected share context                }                run('done'); // exit project context        }        }};SummaryThe Sun ZFS Storage 7000 Appliance offers lots of different and interesting features to Sun/Oracle customers, including the world renowned Analytics. Hopefully the above will help you to think of new creative things you could be doing by taking advantage of one of the other neat features, the internal scripting engine!Some references are below to help you continue learning more, I'll update this post as I do the same! Enjoy...More information on ECMAScript 3A complete reference to ECMAScript 3 which will help you learn more of the details you may be interested in, can be found here:http://www.ecma-international.org/publications/files/ECMA-ST-ARCH/ECMA-262,%203rd%20edition,%20December%201999.pdfMore Information on Administering the Sun ZFS Storage 7000The Sun ZFS Storage 7000 System Administration guide can be a useful reference point, and can be found here:http://wikis.sun.com/download/attachments/186238602/2010_Q3_2_ADMIN.pdf

    Read the article

  • The best, in the West

    - by Fatherjack
    As many of you know, I run the SQL South West user group and we are currently in full flow preparing to stage the UK’s second SQL Saturday. The SQL Saturday spotlight is going to fall on Exeter in March 2013. We have full-day session on Friday 8th with some truly amazing speakers giving their insights and experience into some vital areas of working with SQL Server: Dave Ballantyne and Dave Morrison – TSQL and internals Christian Bolton and Gavin Payne – Mission critical data platforms on Windows Server 2012 Denny Cherry – SQL Server Security André Kamman – Powershell 3.0 for SQL Server Administrators and Developers Mladen Prajdic – From SQL Traces to Extended Events – The next big switch. A number of people have claimed that the choice is too good and they’d have trouble selecting just one session to attend. I can see how this is a problem but hope that they make their minds up quickly. The venue is a bespoke conference suite in the centre of Exeter but has limited capacity so we are working on a first-come first-served basis. All the session details and booking and travel information can be found on our user group website. The Saturday will be a day of free, 50 minute sessions on all aspects SQL Server from almost 30 different speakers. If you would like to submit a session then get a move on as submissions close on 8th January 2013 (That’s less than a month away). We are really interested in getting new speakers started so we have a lightning talk session where you can come along and give a small talk (anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes long) about anything connected with SQL Server as a way to introduce you to what it’s like to be a speaker at an event. Details on registering to attend and to submit a session (Lightning talks need to be submitted too please) can be found on our SQL Saturday pages. This is going to be the biggest and best bespoke SQL Server conference to ever take place this far South West in the UK and we aim to give everyone who comes to either day a real experience of the South West so we have a few surprises for you on the day.

    Read the article

  • Slow internet connection with mobile broadband

    - by Prasad
    I'm using a Huawei 156g USB stick to connect to the internet. In windows it reacts lightning fast and loads pages faster than my Ubuntu 10.10 does, It's not the connection type (HSDPA, WCDMA or gsm) it takes more time to connect, download speed seems okay (But not full speed i think) what is the matter with it? do I need to install some kind of drivers for it? I'm not behind a proxy. please help, I just searched around ask Ubuntu and nothing matched my problem :-(

    Read the article

  • Desktop Fun: Moody Skies Wallpaper Collection Series 2

    - by Asian Angel
    There is nothing quite like looking at a sky filled with billowing clouds, colorful sunsets, visible divisions between storms and clear areas, or lightning. Bring the moods of the sky itself to your desktop with the second in our series of Moody Skies Wallpaper collections. HTG Explains: Why Do Hard Drives Show the Wrong Capacity in Windows? Java is Insecure and Awful, It’s Time to Disable It, and Here’s How What Are the Windows A: and B: Drives Used For?

    Read the article

  • A tale of two (and more) apps

    Robert Cooper gave a great lightning talk at our recent Atlanta GTUG meetup, where he discussed using a single codebase to target multiple mediums (e.g. Android, Facebook, Wave...

    Read the article

  • Chocolatey featured on LifeHacker!

    - by Robz / Fervent Coder
    Chocolatey was just featured on LifeHacker! http://lifehacker.com/5942417/chocolatey-brings-lightning-quick-linux+style-package-management-to-windows I was ecstatic to hear about this, of course now I need to write an actual comparison between chocolatey and other windows package managers. Comments on Reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/commandline/comments/zqnj6/chocolatey_brings_lightning_quick_linuxstyle/

    Read the article

  • PASS Summit 2010 Presentation Feedback

    - by andyleonard
    Introduction It's always an honor to present anywhere. Presenting at the PASS Summit is a special honor. I delivered three presentations last month: Database Design for Developers SSIS Design Patterns, Part 2 A Lightning Talk on SSIS Database Design for Developers First, a bit of explanation (defense): I submitted this abstract to the PASS Abstracts folks by mistake . I kid you not. Inspired by Adam Machanic ( Blog | @AdamMachanic ) I maintain a document of current presentations. I've recently published...(read more)

    Read the article

  • Alternative for Sharepoint 2010 Discussion Boards

    - by Madhawa Karunaratne
    If you have tried Sharepoint discussion boards, you already know that you cannot offer a PROPER forum experience with it. It's still very primitive and it will take considerable time and effort you to extend and customize.Fortunately I found that there are some third party solutions, and Lightning Storm Forum is a very nice alternative. I'ts not free but not that expensive either.You can try it for free and can have a proper forum running in your website withing less than an hour :)http://lightningtools.com/products/storm-forums/

    Read the article

  • PASS Summit Feedback

    - by Rob Farley
    PASS Feedback came in last week. I also saw my dentist for some fillings... At the PASS Summit this year, I delivered a couple of regular sessions and a Lightning Talk. People told me they enjoyed it, but when the rankings came out, they showed that I didn’t score particularly well. Brent Ozar was keen to discuss it with me. Brent: PASS speaker feedback is out. You did two sessions and a Lightning Talk. How did you go? Rob: Not so well actually, thanks for asking. Brent: Ha! Sorry. Of course you know that's why I wanted to discuss this with you. I was in one of your sessions at SQLBits in the UK a month before PASS, and I thought you rocked. You've got a really good and distinctive delivery style.  Then I noticed your talks were ranked in the bottom quarter of the Summit ratings and wanted to discuss it. Rob: Yeah, I know. You did ask me if we could do this...  I should explain – my presentation style is not the stereotypical IT conference one. I throw in jokes, and try to engage the audience thoroughly. I find many talks amazingly dry, and I guess I try to buck that trend. I also run training courses, and find that I get a lot of feedback from people thanking me for keeping things interesting. That said, I also get feedback criticising me for my style, and that’s basically what’s happened here. For the rest of this discussion, let’s focus on my talk about the Incredible Shrinking Execution Plan, which I considered to be my main talk. Brent: I thought that session title was the very best one at the entire Summit, and I had it on my recommended sessions list.  In four words, you managed to sum up the topic and your sense of humor.  I read that and immediately thought, "People need to be in this session," and then it didn't score well.  Tell me about your scores. Rob: The questions on the feedback form covered the usefulness of the information, the speaker’s presentation skills, their knowledge of the subject, how well the session was described, the amount of time allocated, and the quality of the presentation materials. Brent: Presentation materials? But you don’t do slides.  Did they rate your thong? Rob: No-one saw my flip-flops in this talk, Brent. I created a script in Management Studio, and published that afterwards, but I think people will have scored that question based on the lack of slides. I wasn’t expecting to do particularly well on that one. That was the only section that didn’t have 5/5 as the most popular score. Brent: See, that sucks, because cookbook-style scripts are often some of my favorites.  Adam Machanic's Service Broker workbench series helped me immensely when I was prepping for the MCM.  As an attendee, I'd rather have a commented script than a slide deck.  So how did you rank so low? Rob: When I look at the scores that you got (based on your blog post), you got very few scores below 3 – people that felt strong enough about your talk to post a negative score. In my scores, between 5% and 10% were below 3 (except on the question about whether I knew my stuff – I guess I came as knowledgeable). Brent: Wow – so quite a few people really didn’t like your talk then? Rob: Yeah. Mind you, based on the comments, some people really loved it. I’d like to think that there would be a certain portion of the room who may have rated the talk as one of the best of the conference. Some of my comments included “amazing!”, “Best presentation so far!”, “Wow, best session yet”, “fantastic” and “Outstanding!”. I think lots of talks can be “Great”, but not so many talks can be “Outstanding” without the word losing its meaning. One wrote “Pretty amazing presentation, considering it was completely extemporaneous.” Brent: Extemporaneous, eh? Rob: Yeah. I guess they don’t realise how much preparation goes into coming across as unprepared. In many ways it’s much easier to give a written speech than to deliver a presentation without slides as a prompt. Brent: That delivery style, the really relaxed, casual, college-professor approach was one of the things I really liked about your presentation at SQLbits.  As somebody who presents a lot, I "get" it - I know how hard it is to come off as relaxed and comfortable with your own material.  It's like improv done by jazz players and comedians - if you've never tried it, you don't realize how hard it is.  People also don't realize how hard it is to make a tough subject fun. Rob: Yeah well... There will be people writing comments on this post that say I wasn't trying to make the subject fun, and that I was making it all about me. Sometimes the style works, sometimes it doesn't. Most of the comments mentioned the fact that I tell jokes, some in a nice way, but some not so much (and it wasn't just a PASS thing - that's the mix of feedback I generally get). One comment at PASS was: “great stand up comedian - not what I'm looking for at pass”, and there were certainly a few that said “too many jokes”. I’m not trying to do stand-up – jokes are my way of engaging with the audience while I demonstrate some of the amazing things that the Query Optimizer can do if you write your queries the right way. Some people didn’t think it was technical enough, but I’ve also had some people tell me that the concepts I’m explaining are deep and profound. Brent: To me, that's a hallmark of a great explanation - when someone says, "But of course it has to work that way - how could it work any other way?  It seems so simple and logical."  Well, sure it does when it's explained correctly, but now pick up any number of thick SQL Server books and try to understand the Redundant Joins concept.  I guarantee it'll take more than 45 minutes. Rob: Some people in my audiences realise that, but definitely not everyone. There's only so much you can tell someone that something is profound. Generally it's something that they either have an epiphany on or not. I like to lull my audience into knowing what's going on, and do something that surprises them. Gain their trust, build a rapport, and then show them the deeper truth of what just happened. Brent: So you've learned your lesson about presentation scores, right?  From here on out, you're going to be dry, humorless, and all your presentations will consist of you reading bullet points off the screen. Rob: No Brent, I’m not. I'm also not going to suggest that most presentations at PASS are like that. No-one tries to present like that. There's a big space to occupy between what "dry and humourless" and me. My difference is to focus on the relationship I have with the crowd, rather than focussing on delivering the perfect session. I want to see people smiling and know they're relaxed. I think most presenters focus on the material, which is completely reasonable and safe. I remember once hearing someone talking about product creation. They talked about mediocrity. They said that one of the worst things that people can ever say about your product is that it’s “good”. What you want is for 10% of the world to love it enough to want to buy it. If 10% the world gave me a dollar, I’d have more money than I could ever use (assuming it wasn’t the SAME dollar they were giving me I guess). Brent: It's the Raving Fans theory.  It's better to have a small number of raving customers than a large number of almost-but-not-really customers who don't care that much about your product or service.  I know exactly how you feel - when I got survey feedback from my Quest video presentation when I was dressed up in a Richard Simmons costume, some of the attendees said I was unprofessional and distracting.  Some of the attendees couldn't get enough and Photoshopped all kinds of stuff into the screen captures.  On a whole, I probably didn't score that well, and I'm fine with that.  It sucks to look at the scores though - do those lower scores bother you? Rob: Of course they do. It hurts deeply. I open myself up and give presentations in a very personal way. All presenters do that, and we all feel the pain of negative feedback. I hate coming 146th & 162nd out of 185, but have to acknowledge that many sessions did worse still. Plus, once I feel the wounds have healed, I’ll be able to remember that there are people in the world that rave about my presentation style, and figure that people will hopefully talk about me. One day maybe those people that don’t like my presentation style will stay away and I might be able to score better. You don’t pay to hear country music if you prefer western... Lots of people find chili too spicy, but it’s still a popular food. Brent: But don’t you want to appeal to everyone? Rob: I do, but I don’t want to be lukewarm as in Revelation 3:16. I’d rather disgust and be discussed. Well, maybe not ‘disgust’, but I don’t want to conform. Conformity just isn’t the same any more. I’m not sure I’ve ever been one to do that. I try not to offend, but definitely like to be different. Brent: Count me among your raving fans, sir.  Where can we see you next? Rob: Considering I live in Adelaide in Australia, I’m not about to appear at anyone’s local SQL Saturday. I’m still trying to plan which events I’ll get to in 2011. I’ve submitted abstracts for TechEd North America, but won’t hold my breath. I’m also considering the SQLBits conferences in the UK in April, PASS in October, and I’m sure I’ll do some LiveMeeting presentations for user groups. Online, people download some of my recent SQLBits presentations at http://bit.ly/RFSarg and http://bit.ly/Simplification though. And they can download a 5-minute MP3 of my Lightning Talk at http://www.lobsterpot.com.au/files/Collation.mp3, in which I try to explain the idea behind collation, using thongs as an example. Brent: I was in the audience for http://bit.ly/RFSarg. That was a great presentation. Rob: Thanks, Brent. Now where’s my dollar?

    Read the article

  • Friday Fun: Spell Blazer

    - by Asian Angel
    Are you ready for some fun and adventure after a long week back at work? This week’s game combines jewel-matching style game play with an RPG story for an awesome mix of fun and fiction. Your goal is to help a young wizard reach the magic academy in Raven as the forces of darkness are building. Spell Blazer The object of the game is to help young Kaven reach the Lightcaster Academy in Raven alive, but he will encounter many dangers along the way. Are you ready to begin the quest? As soon as you click Start Game the intro will automatically begin. If this is your first time playing the game the intro provides a nice background story for the game and what is happening in the game environment. Once you are past the intro, you will see a map of the region with your starting point in the Farmlands, various towns and the roads connecting them, along with your final destination of Raven. Notice that some of the roads are different colors…those colors indicate the “danger levels” for each part of your journey (green = good, yellow = some danger, etc.). To begin your journey click on the Town of Goose with your mouse. You will encounter your first monster part of the way towards Goose. This first round takes you through the game play process step-by-step. Once you have clicked Okay you will see the details about the monster you have just encountered. It is very important that you do not click on Fight! or Flee! until viewing and noting the types of spells that the monster is resistant to or has a weakness against. Choose your spells wisely based on the information provided about the monster. Keep in mind that the healing spell can be very useful depending on the monster you meet and your current health status. Note: Spells shown in order here are Healing, Fireball, Icebolt, & Lightning. Ready to fight! The first battle will also explain how to fight…click Okay to get started. Once the main window is in full view there are details that you need to look at. Beneath each of the combatants you will see the three attacks that each brings to the battle and at the bottom you will see their respective health points. We got lucky and had an Icebolt attack that we could utilize on the first play! Note: You can exchange two squares without making a match in order to try and line up an attack. While it happened too quickly to capture in our screenshot, there will be cool lightning bolt effects shoot out from matched up squares to the opposite combatant. You will also see the amount of damage inflicted from a particular attack on top of the avatars. Victory! Once you have won a round of combat a window will appear showing the amount of gold coins left behind by the monster. When you reach a town you will have the opportunity to stop over and rest or directly continue on with your journey. On to Halgard after a good rest! Play Spell Blazer Latest Features How-To Geek ETC How To Boot 10 Different Live CDs From 1 USB Flash Drive The 20 Best How-To Geek Linux Articles of 2010 The 50 Best How-To Geek Windows Articles of 2010 The 20 Best How-To Geek Explainer Topics for 2010 How to Disable Caps Lock Key in Windows 7 or Vista How to Use the Avira Rescue CD to Clean Your Infected PC The Deep – Awesome Use of Metal Objects as Deep Sea Creatures [Video] Convert or View Documents Online Easily with Zoho, No Account Required Build a Floor Scrubbing Robot out of Computer Fans and a Frisbee Serene Blue Windows Wallpaper for Your Desktop 2011 International Space Station Calendar Available for Download (Free) Ultimate Elimination – Lego Black Ops [Video]

    Read the article

  • Access Google Apps Global Address List from Thunderbird

    - by Roy
    We're considering using Google Apps as groupware, with our Mac and Linux users (and likely a few of the Windows users as well) accessing mail and calendar using Thunderbird with Lightning. We seem to have worked out most features, but have not found a way to access Global Address List. Is there a way to sync the Global Address List to Thunderbird? Update: The Zindus addon as suggested by @superuser, does not have support for Global Address List from Google Apps (it does however support GAL from a Zimbra server)

    Read the article

  • What presentation software should I use for a five minute talk.

    - by Chas. Owens
    I am giving a lightning talk shortly and need to put together some slides. It is a technical talk about Perl documentation. I will be using a OS X machine to run the presentation software. I would like something that is minimalistic easy to publish to the web simple to control (forward and back should do it, but hotkey access to individual slides would be nice) simple to create slides for (preferably purely text based and doesn't require much in the way of markup)

    Read the article

< Previous Page | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7  | Next Page >