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• Bacula vs. BackupPC

  - by chronoz

  I have been googling about the differences between them. Bacula has lots of roles BackupPC is easier to configure Bacula works with agent, not rsync (great for Windows backups) It seems that Bacula is most often compared to Amanda though, while BackupPC seems a perfectly lovely and popular backup distribution to. I currently backup my servers with rsnapshot, but I am looking for a professional scalable solution that could also back-up 50 hosts without problems. Preferably a solution that can offer bare metal restores for my Linux servers. I am not looking to reinstall the exact same version of Plesk, the software, etc...

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• Are there any concrete examples of where a paralellizing compiler would provide a value-adding benefit?

  - by jamie

  Paul Graham argues that: It would be great if a startup could give us something of the old Moore's Law back, by writing software that could make a large number of CPUs look to the developer like one very fast CPU. ... The most ambitious is to try to do it automatically: to write a compiler that will parallelize our code for us. There's a name for this compiler, the sufficiently smart compiler, and it is a byword for impossibility. But is it really impossible? Can someone provide a concrete example where a paralellizing compiler would solve a pain point? Web-apps don't appear to be a problem: just run a bunch of Node processes. Real-time raytracing isn't a problem: the programmers are writing multi-threaded, SIMD assembly language quite happily (indeed, some might complain if we make it easier!). The holy grail is to be able to accelerate any program, be it MySQL, Garage Band, or Quicken. I'm looking for a middle ground: is there a real-world problem that you have experienced where a "smart-enough" compiler would have provided a real benefit, i.e that someone would pay for? A good answer is one where there is a process where the computer runs at 100% CPU on a single core for a painful period of time. That time might be 10 seconds, if the task is meant to be quick. It might be 500ms if the task is meant to be interactive. It might be 10 hours. Please describe such a problem. Really, that's all I'm looking for: candidate areas for further investigation. (Hence, raytracing is off the list because all the low-hanging fruit have been feasted upon.) I am not interested in why it cannot be done. There are a million people willing to point to the sound reasons why it cannot be done. Such answers are not useful.

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• Viewpoint gem and Exchange resource account

  - by scott.simpson

  Hi- I'm trying my hand at using the Viewpoint gem (by zenchild @ github) as the base for a meeting scheduling system. It's great at reading calendar information from regular Exchange 2007 accounts, but I got stuck trying to change the SOAP request header to allow me to read resource accounts as a delegate. I came across http://blogs.msdn.com/b/mstehle/archive/2009/06/16/exchange-api-team-blog-exchange-impersonation-vs-delegate-access.aspx and it seems to be what I need, and I have the feeling I'm on the edge of getting it working, but I'm just not quite there yet as a ruby programmer. Any help would be appreciated... Thanks!

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• Wacom tablet or Evoluvent Vertical Mouse

  - by Bob Smith

  Having tried a number of mice that didn't help with wrist pain, I am contemplating buying a Wacom tablet or Evoluvent Vertical Mouse. I have heard great things about both of them. What do you recommend for someone with wrist pain in both hands that seems to be getting worse by the day? PS: I work mostly in Windows and Visual Studio environment. I currently have the MS natural ergonomic keyboard. I have started taking regular breaks and am also planning to see a doctor.

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• BSOD > Help interpret this crash? [DMP file]

  - by feed_me_code

  System just crashed, below here is event view details.. Been running GREAT for last few days.. First crash since.. DMP File link below.. Can someone please help interpret this crash? Thanks The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck. The bugcheck was: 0x000000d1 (0x00001000000102fd, 0x0000000000000002, 0x0000000000000000, 0xfffff88010143afd). A dump was saved in: C:\Windows\Minidump\052714-23010-01.dmp. Report Id: 052714-23010-01. https://www.dropbox.com/s/ag19ejkrddnjjct/052714-23010-01.dmp

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• Finding shapes in 2D Array, then optimising

  - by assemblism

  I'm new so I can't do an image, but below is a diagram for a game I am working on, moving bricks into patterns, and I currently have my code checking for rotated instances of a "T" shape of any colour. The X and O blocks would be the same colour, and my last batch of code would find the "T" shape where the X's are, but what I wanted was more like the second diagram, with two "T"s Current result      Desired Result [X][O][O]                [1][1][1] [X][X][_]                [2][1][_] [X][O][_]                [2][2][_] [O][_][_]                [2][_][_] My code loops through x/y, marks blocks as used, rotates the shape, repeats, changes colour, repeats. I have started trying to fix this checking with great trepidation. The current idea is to: loop through the grid and make note of all pattern occurrences (NOT marking blocks as used), and putting these to an array loop through the grid again, this time noting which blocks are occupied by which patterns, and therefore which are occupied by multiple patterns. looping through the grid again, this time noting which patterns obstruct which patterns That much feels right... What do I do now? I think I would have to try various combinations of conflicting shapes, starting with those that obstruct the most other patterns first.How do I approach this one? use the rational that says I have 3 conflicting shapes occupying 8 blocks, and the shapes are 4 blocks each, therefore I can only have a maximum of two shapes. (I also intend to incorporate other shapes, and there will probably be score weighting which will need to be considered when going through the conflicting shapes, but that can be another day) I don't think it's a bin packing problem, but I'm not sure what to look for. Hope that makes sense, thanks for your help

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• Retuning voice in full song so that singer is on-tune

  - by Dan W

  I have some potentially great songs which are spoilt by singers who sing out of tune. Is there any easy to use (and hopefully cheap) software that 'corrects' the song so that they're not off-tune anymore? I don't mind too much if the backing is somewhat affected too, if the state-of-the-art isn't quite there yet. I've heard of auto-tune of course, but as far as I know, that's before the song is put together (i.e. the singer's voice as an individual track, before it's mixed with the backing).

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• More than one way to skin an Audit

  - by BuckWoody

  I get asked quite a bit about auditing in SQL Server. By "audit", people mean everything from tracking logins to finding out exactly who ran a particular SELECT statement. In the really early versions of SQL Server, we didn't have a great story for very granular audits, so lots of workarounds were suggested. As time progressed, more and more audit capabilities were added to the product, and in typical database platform fashion, as we added a feature we didn't often take the others away. So now, instead of not having an option to audit actions by users, you might face the opposite problem - too many ways to audit! You can read more about the options you have for tracking users here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc280526(v=SQL.100).aspx  In SQL Server 2008, we introduced SQL Server Audit, which uses Extended Events to really get a simple way to implement high-level or granular auditing. You can read more about that here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd392015.aspx  As with any feature, you should understand what your needs are first. Auditing isn't "free" in the performance sense, so you need to make sure you're only auditing what you need to. Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! | live it!

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• Can't change settings for Mobile Broadband Dongle - Button is greyed out

  - by Ross LIndsey

  I was with VirginBroadband.com.au (Australia). My huawai 3G Dongle was working great on Ubuntu, However I have changed ISP's. I unlocked the modem, and put in the new SIM. I have tested this in my Windows PC and it connects to the new (Optus) Network A-OK and it all works. When I put this dongle (the same one that was working fine in Ubuntu) into that same Ubuntu Netbook it simply won't connect. When I try to go into the dialog to try and add or change settings the button to change or update settings is greyed out, I can't select it. Apparently since this dongle was already recognized the Broadband Setup Wizard won't start, and I have no idea how to get it to start (presuming it has the ability to configure an already recognized dongle). What do I have to do to either enable the ability to change the configuration for this setup, or to blow away the one that is set up so the Broadband Wizard will re-start and let me configure a new one. Can anyone provide simple instructions for doing this? I'm using Ubuntu with the Cinnamon Desktop

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• Rails time stamps on images in CSS

  - by brad

  Just posted this on Stack but realized it may be more appropriate here: So Rails time stamping is great. I'm using it to add expires headers to all files that end in the 10 digit timestamp. Most of my images however are referenced in my CSS. Has anyone come across any method that allows for timestamps to be added to CSS referenced images, or some funky re-write rule that achieves this? I'd love for ALL images in my site, both inline and in css to have this timestamp so I can tell the browser to cache them, but refresh any time the file itself changes. I couldn't find anything on the net regarding this and I can't believe this isn't a more frequently discussed topic. I don't think my setup will matter because the actual expiring will hopefully happen the same way, based on the 10 digit timestamp, but I'm using apache to serve all static content if that matters

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• Disable of discrete/native graphics on MacBook Retina when using apps like VMware, VLC, etc

  - by badkitteh

  I got a MacBook Pro Retina a few months ago and I'm really happy with it. However, since I do a lot of work in different environments/OSes, I make heavy use of VMware to have them with me when I'm on the road. The MBPr has a great battery life - as long as integrated graphics are being used. Unfortunately as soon as I launch VMware, the MacBook switches to discrete graphics and battery life is effectively halved. I noticed that after installing gfxCardStatus, and now I'm wondering if there is a way to force the integrated graphics being used all of the time, so I can enjoy maximum battery life. Thanks.

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• New Exam Prep Seminar for Program With PL/SQL!

  - by Harold Green

  We're happy to announce the availability of a brand new Exam Prep Seminar titled Certification Exam Prep Seminar: Program with PL/SQL. This new Exam Prep Seminar is available as a standalone product. For those of you preparing for the Oracle PL/SQL Developer Certified Associate certification, this seminar is a great value and and an excellent way to gain valuable insight from one of Oracle University's top Database instructors. This Exam Prep Seminar will accelerate your preparation, make your prep time more efficient and give you insight to the breadth and depth of the certification exam. This type of exam preparation has traditionally only been available at the Oracle OpenWorld conference, but is now available to anyone through this new format. Of course with online video, you can now start, stop, rewind, and review as needed! Also note that because this seminar is in the Oracle Training On Demand format, you can also watch it on your your iPad through Oracle University's new free iPad app. QUICK LINKS SEMINAR: Certification Exam Prep Seminar: Program with PL/SQL APPLICABLE EXAMS: 1Z0-147: Program With PL/SQL 1Z0-144:  Oracle Database 11g: Program with PL/SQL CERTIFICATION: Oracle PL/SQL Developer Certified Associate

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• Starting with text based MUD/MUCK game

  - by Scott Ivie

  I’ve had this idea for a video game in my head for a long time but I’ve never had the knowledge or time to get it done. I still don’t really, but I am willing to dedicate a chunk of my time to this before it’s too late. Recently I started studying Lua script for a program called “MUSH Client” which works for MU* telnet style text games. I want to use the GUI capabilities of Mush Client with a MU* server to create a basic game but here is my dilemma. I figured this could be a suitable starting place for me. BUT… Because I’m not very programmer savvy yet, I don’t know how to download/install/use the MU* server software. I was originally considering Protomuck because a few of the MU*s I were more impressed with began there. http://www.protomuck.org/ I downloaded it, but I guess I'm too used to GUI style programs so I'm having great difficulty figuring out what to do next. Does anyone have any suggestions? Does anyone even know what I'm talking about? heh..

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• If I install Ubuntu 12.04, will it recognize all of my RAM?

  - by user91048

  I have a question that's been bugging me since a long time. A friend of mine told me that when he had Ubuntu 11.10 installed the OS only recognized 3.4GB instead of 8GB. In the next week I'll be buying a new computer and I'll have 8GB of RAM, does the Video Card need to have it's own video memory for the OS to recognize the RAM entirely?. If you could give me some advise on how to configure my PC before I buy it it would be great. Thanks. Tengo una duda que me ronda de hace tiempo. Un amigo mio me comento que con ubuntu 11.10 tenia 8 gb de RAM y que solo le reconocia 3.4. Dentro de unos 5 dias me comprare un ordenador nuevo a base de componentes y voy a meterle 8 gb de RAM. ¿Hace falta que la tarjeta gráfica tenga Gb dedicados para que el sistema me reconozca la RAM entera? Si podeis darme algunos consejillos sobre como configurar el PC antes de comprarmelo para que ese problema no me pase, Muchisimas Gracias.

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• Setting up Cluster Configuration using an existing web server as a Primary Node?

  - by RapidWebs

  Thanks in advance for any help which is issued! I am having a slight issue, and need help with the decision making process when it comes to setting up my Cluster Configuration, consisting on a line of Ubuntu Servers (12.04). We currently have a Primary node, which resides in the US within a Datacenter, but we are going to be using this for all serious bandwidth and resource intensive websites, and through a configuration of Virtualmin + Webmin, will be setup as a sort of pseudo-cluster, using Virtualmins Cluster Modules. Anyways, on to the issue: We also have a business line setup locally, with three servers. here are their specs: Intel P4 2.4 ghz, 1GB Ram, 110 gb sata, Ubuntu 12.04* AMD 1.3 ghz, 512MB Ram, 20 GB IDE P3 Xeon 800mhz (dual physical processors), 1GB Ram, 3 * 25 GB Raid Configuration (one in use for host operating system). The first machine is currently IN USE and is serving virtual hosts off a sub-domain. My question is this: How can I integrate the Secondary node (which will be the Primary node per say, in this smaller configuration...) which is currently in use, into the cluster configuration w/ the other two servers for: Sharing Resources Redundancy (HA?) NFS /w the two Raid Disks without having the FORMAT the secondary node, and start fresh moving all my services in to a DRBD network drive or something similar, and than restoring all active virtualmin's Virtual hosts. the idea is that I want minimal downtime to people currently being served from server2.mywebsite.com, and from what I understand, all services need to be on a NFS so that they can be mounted on demand and accessed from the other machine taking over (i.e. Heartbeat + DRBD Config.) but my issue is that i already have all these services installed to their default directory structure: how can i most easily setup this NFS and HA system, move all my desires services to this new drive, and do it with minimal down time, and without breaking Virtualmin and everything else on my server? even just some pointers, a thread i could read, or a step by step check list or run down of commands i could issue to get started would be great! thanks!

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• Should the syntax for disabling code differ from that of normal comments?

  - by deltreme

  For several reasons during development I sometimes comment out code. As I am chaotic and sometimes in a hurry, some of these make it to source control. I also use comments to clarify blocks of code. For instance: MyClass MyFunction() { (...) // return null; // TODO: dummy for now return obj; } Even though it "works" and alot of people do it this way, it annoys me that you cannot automatically distinguish commented-out code from "real" comments that clarify code: it adds noise when trying to read code you cannot search for commented-out code for for instance an on-commit hook in source control. Some languages support multiple single-line comment styles - for instance in PHP you can either use // or # for a single-line comment - and developers can agree on using one of these for commented-out code: # return null; // TODO: dummy for now return obj; Other languages - like C# which I am using today - have one style for single-line comments (right? I wish I was wrong). I have also seen examples of "commenting-out" code using compiler directives, which is great for large blocks of code, but a bit overkill for single lines as two new lines are required for the directive: #if compile_commented_out return null; // TODO: dummy for now #endif return obj; So as commenting-out code happens in every(?) language, shouldn't "disabled code" get its own syntax in language specifications? Are the pro's (separation of comments / disabled code, editors / source control acting on them) good enough and the cons ("shouldn't do commenting-out anyway", not a functional part of a language, potential IDE lag (thanks Thomas)) worth sacrificing? Edit I realise the example I used is silly; the dummy code could easily be removed as it is replaced by the actual code.

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• Ideal data structure/techniques for storing generic scheduler data in C#

  - by GraemeMiller

  I am trying to implement a generic scheduler object in C# 4 which will output a table in HTML. Basic aim is to show some object along with various attributes, and whether it was doing something in a given time period. The scheduler will output a table displaying the headers: Detail Field 1 ....N| Date1.........N I want to initialise the table with a start date and an end date to create the date range (ideally could also do other time periods e.g. hours but that isn't vital). I then want to provide a generic object which will have associated events. Where an object has events within the period I want a table cell to be marked E.g. Name Height Weight 1/1/2011 2/1/2011 3/1/20011...... 31/1/2011 Ben 5.11 75 X X X Bill 5.7 83 X X So I created scheduler with Start Date=1/1/2011 and end date 31/1/2011 I'd like to give it my person object (already sorted) and tell it which fields I want displayed (Name, Height, Weight) Each person has events which have a start date and end date. Some events will start and end outwith but they should still be shown on the relevant date etc. Ideally I'd like to have been able to provide it with say a class booking object as well. So I'm trying to keep it generic. I have seen Javasript implementations etc of similar. What would a good data structure be for this? Any thoughts on techniques I could use to make it generic. I am not great with generics so any tips appreciated.

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• How can I create a windows shutdown script from powershell/command-line?

  - by David Rubin

  I've read the TechNet pages that describe using computer/user startup/shutdown scripts, and that's great, but I'd like to create those scripts via the command-line (and not have to click around in gpedit.msc). It looks like scripts.ini and psscripts.ini in %SYSTEMROOT%\System32\GroupPolicy\Machine\Scripts specifies the scripts to run, but those don't exist until running gpedit.msc for the first time. Is it safe to create and edit those directly? Or do I need to muck around with Set-GPO or something similar? Thanks!

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• IT Journal database

  - by SysPrep2010

  Hello everyone, I just wanted to talk about this. This could help you in your IT career. I have been keeping an IT journal with me at all times. I write down problems and then the solutionss. OMG it has been great. For one site I work at I had an DFS issue and another place I work for had the same issue and it helped me out alot. So Just wanted to talk about it.

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• Open Microsoft Publisher Document on Linux

  - by Peter

  I'm pretty sure the options consist of Just don't do it (use a nice open standard file format). Not great when someone sends you something. Translate the format on Windows. I think you need Publisher, the viewer won't even print. But you can download a trial version for a once off (been there, done that). Submit the file for online translation to PDF. www.pdfonline.com/convert-pdf/ Use a Windows VM, wine, crossover office, Win4Lin, or otherwise run Publisher "under" linux. What I really want to do is convert it to something nicer natively under Linux.

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• Good practice or service for monitoring unhandled application errors for a small organization

  - by palto

  I'm working with multiple software with varying ways of monitoring for errors. When I make software, I usually send email with the stack trace to admins(usually me). Some customer software is monitored by a team who check that a particular batch run was successfull. Other software might not have any monitoring at all(someone will call when things go wrong horribly). Sending emails is good, except when things start going wrong, my mail gets filled fast. Also I don't want to solve the same problem in code for every software. Is there some relatively cheap and low maintenance software or practice to handle this. I want it to be cheap/low maintenance because usually I work alone or in teams of 5 or smaller. For example it would be great if errors would be aggregated so I don't get 10 000 emails when something unexpected happens... For clarification: By unhandled errors I mean Exceptions that were unhandled by application code that were propagated to Tomcat or Jboss. I don't need help with how to catch those errors. I need help with what to do with them. Is there any cloud application that I could send my errors to? Or some simple server to install? Or some library that can handle errors using configuration files. I use Java if that is any help.

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• change default userid for connecting to local AFP share?

  - by Stew

  I've got Netatalk & Avahi running on a local Ubuntu server--I use two different userids, "afp" for Time Machine and "stew" to access my media files etc. In order to mount a shared directory on my server, I have to click "Connect As..." and enter my userid/password every time, because it always tries to log in using Time Machine's userid. I'm not sure if this is because that userid is set as default, or just because it's the last userid that logged in to that server--either way: Is there a way to change the default userid for connecting to a given server? Mega extra credit: I'd love to have this automated, such that my userid, "stew", is always logged in (and heck, it'd be great to have the directories always mounted, too!) whenever the server is available. Thanks!

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• Ask the Readers: What Do You Have Set as Your Homepage?

  - by Mysticgeek

  When if comes to setting a homepage in your browser, it’s really based on personal preference. Today we want to know what you have set as your homepage in your favorite browser. Browser Homepage There are a lot of search sites that allow you to customize your homepage such as iGoogle, MSN, and Yahoo. Some people enjoy having a homepage set up as a dashboard of sorts. While others like simplicity and set it to Google or leave it blank. Not surprisingly in a small office or corporation you will see a lot of workstations set to MSN or the company SharePoint site. Unfortunately, a lot of free software tries to change you default homepage as well, like in this example when installing Windows Live Essentials. Make sure to avoid this by not rushing through software install wizards, and carefully opt out of such options. What is set as your homepage in your favorite web browser…both for work and at home? Leave us a comment and join in the discussion! Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Ask the Readers: Which Web Browser Do You Use?How-To Geek Comment PolicyMysticgeek Blog: A Look at Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 on Windows XPSet the Default Browser on Ubuntu From the Command LineAnnouncing the How-To Geek Forums TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips Xobni Plus for Outlook All My Movies 5.9 CloudBerry Online Backup 1.5 for Windows Home Server Snagit 10 Get a free copy of WinUtilities Pro 2010 World Cup Schedule Boot Snooze – Reboot and then Standby or Hibernate Customize Everything Related to Dates, Times, Currency and Measurement in Windows 7 Google Earth replacement Icon (Icons we like) Build Great Charts in Excel with Chart Advisor

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• Building Enterprise Smartphone App &ndash; Part 4: Application Development Considerations

  - by Tim Murphy

  This is the final part in a series of posts based on a talk I gave recently at the Chicago Information Technology Architects Group.  Feel free to leave feedback. Application Development Considerations Now we get to the actual building of your solutions.  What are the skills and resources that will be needed in order to develop a smartphone application in the enterprise? Language Knowledge One of the first things you need to consider when you are deciding which platform language do you either have the most in house skill base or can you easily acquire.  If you already have developers who know Java or C# you may want to use either Android or Windows Phone.  You should also take into consideration the market availability of developers.  If your key developer leaves how easy is it to find a knowledgeable replacement? A second consideration when it comes to programming languages is the qualities exposed by the languages of a particular platform.  How well does that development language and its associated frameworks support things like security and access to the features of the smartphone hardware?  This will play into your overall cost of ownership if you have to create this infrastructure on your own. Manage Limited Resources Everything is limited on a smartphone: battery, memory, processing power, network bandwidth.  When developing your applications you will have to keep your footprint as small as possible in every way.  This means not running unnecessary processes in the background that will drain the battery or pulling more data over the airwaves than you have to.  You also want to keep your on device in as compact a format as possible. Mobile Design Patterns There are a number of design patterns that have either come to life because of smartphone development or have been adapted for this use.  The main pattern in the Windows Phone environment is the MVVM (Model-View-View-Model).  This is great for overall application structure and separation of concerns.  The fun part is trying to keep that separation as pure as possible.  Many of the other patterns may or may not have strict definitions, but some that you need to be concerned with are push notification, asynchronous communication and offline data storage. Real estate is limited on smartphones and even tablets. You are also limited in the type of controls that can be represented in the UI. This means rethinking how you modularize your application. Typing is also much harder to do so you want to reduce this as much as possible.  This leads to UI patterns.  While not what we would traditionally think of as design patterns the guidance each platform has for UI design is critical to the success of your application.  If user find the application difficult navigate they will not use it. Development Process Because of the differences in development tools required, test devices and certification and deployment processes your teams will need to learn new way of working together.  This will include the need to integrate service contracts of back-end systems with mobile applications.  You will also want to make sure that you present consistency across different access points to corporate data.  Your web site may have more functionality than your smartphone application, but it should have a consistent core set of functionality.  This all requires greater communication between sub-teams of your developers. Testing Process Testing of smartphone apps has a lot more to do with what happens when you lose connectivity or if the user navigates away from your application. There are a lot more opportunities for the user or the device to perform disruptive acts.  This should be your main testing concentration aside from the main business requirements.  You will need to do things like setting the phone to airplane mode and seeing what the application does in order to weed out any gaps in your handling communication interruptions. Need For Outside Experts Since this is a development area that is new to most companies the need for experts is a lot greater. Whether these are consultants, vendor representatives or just development community forums you will need to establish expert contacts. Nothing is more dangerous for your project timelines than a lack of knowledge.  Make sure you know who to call to avoid lengthy delays in your project because of knowledge gaps. Security Security has to be a major concern for enterprise applications. You aren't dealing with just someone's game standings. You are dealing with a companies intellectual property and competitive advantage. As such you need to start by limiting access to the application itself.  Once the user is in the app you need to ensure that the data is secure at all times.  This includes both local storage and across the wire.  This means if a platform doesn’t natively support encryption for these functions you will need to find alternatives to secure your data.  You also need to keep secret (encryption) keys obfuscated or locked away outside of the application. People can disassemble the code otherwise and break your encryption. Offline Capabilities As we discussed earlier one your biggest concerns is not having connectivity.  Because of this a good portion of your code may be dedicated to handling loss of connection and reconnection situations.  What do you do if you lose the network?  Back up all your transactions and store of any supporting data so that operations can continue off line. In order to support this you will need to determine the available flat file or local data base capabilities of the platform.  Any failed transactions will need to support a retry mechanism whether it is automatic or user initiated.  This also includes your services since they will need to be able to roll back partially completed transactions.  What ever you do, don’t ignore this area when you are designing your system. Deployment Each platform has different deployment capabilities. Some are more suited to enterprise situations than others. Apple's approach is probably the most mature at the moment. Prior to the current generation of smartphone platforms it would have been Windows CE. Windows Phone 7 has the limitation that the app has to be distributed through the same network as public facing applications. You mark them as private which means that they are only accessible by a direct URL. Unfortunately this does not make them undiscoverable (although it is very difficult). This will change with Windows Phone 8 where companies will be able to certify their own applications and distribute them.  Given this Windows Phone applications need to be more diligent with application access in order to keep them restricted to the company's employees. My understanding of the Android deployment schemes is that it is much less standardized then either iOS or Windows Phone. Someone would have to confirm or deny that for me though since I have not yet put the time into researching this platform further. Given my limited exposure to the iOS and Android platforms I have not been able to confirm this, but there are varying degrees of user involvement to install and keep applications updated. At one extreme the user just goes to a website to do the install and in other case they may need to download files and perform steps to install them. Future Bluetooth Today we use Bluetooth for keyboards, mice and headsets.  In the future it could be used to interrogate car computers or manufacturing systems or possibly retail machines by service techs.  This would open smartphones to greater use as a almost a Star Trek Tricorder.  You would get you all your data as well as being able to use it as a universal remote for just about any device or machine. Better corporation controlled deployment At least in the Windows Phone world the upcoming release of Windows Phone 8 will include a private certification and deployment option that is currently not available with Windows Phone 7 (Mango). We currently have to run the apps through the Marketplace certification process and use a targeted distribution method. Platform independent approaches HTML5 and JavaScript with Web Service has become a popular topic lately for not only creating flexible web site, but also creating cross platform mobile applications.  I’m not yet convinced that this lowest common denominator approach is viable in most cases, but it does have it’s place and seems to be growing.  Be sure to keep an eye on it. Summary From my perspective enterprise smartphone applications can offer a great competitive advantage to many companies.  They are not cheap to build and should be approached cautiously.  Understand the factors I have outlined in this series, do you due diligence and see if there is a portion of your business that can benefit from the mobile experience. del.icio.us Tags: Architecture,Smartphones,Windows Phone,iOS,Android

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• Run Windows Store Apps in a Window on the Desktop in Windows 8?

  - by Kirk

  Is it possible to run Windows Store apps in a window on the desktop in Windows 8? For example, I think the Finance app is awesome, I just don't want it to occupy dedicated space on my screen (either taking the full screen, or snapped to the side). It would be great if I could run it in a window on my desktop. Is this possible? I'm think developers need to view/run/build their apps in a desktop window in order to work productively. Is this the case?

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