Search Results

Search found 7332 results on 294 pages for 'hooray im helping'.

Page 47/294 | < Previous Page | 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54  | Next Page >

  • 2D Camera Acceleration/Lag

    - by Cyral
    I have a nice camera set up for my 2D xna game. Im wondering how I should make the camera have 'acceleration' or 'lag' so it smoothly follows the player, instead of 'exactly' like mine does now. Im thinking somehow I need to Lerp the values when I set CameraPosition. Heres my code private void ScrollCamera(Viewport viewport) { float ViewMargin = .35f; float marginWidth = viewport.Width * ViewMargin; float marginLeft = cameraPosition.X + marginWidth; float marginRight = cameraPosition.X + viewport.Width - marginWidth; float TopMargin = .3f; float BottomMargin = .1f; float marginTop = cameraPosition.Y + viewport.Height * TopMargin; float marginBottom = cameraPosition.Y + viewport.Height - viewport.Height * BottomMargin; Vector2 CameraMovement; Vector2 maxCameraPosition; CameraMovement.X = 0.0f; if (Player.Position.X < marginLeft) CameraMovement.X = Player.Position.X - marginLeft; else if (Player.Position.X > marginRight) CameraMovement.X = Player.Position.X - marginRight; maxCameraPosition.X = 16 * Width - viewport.Width; cameraPosition.X = MathHelper.Clamp(cameraPosition.X + CameraMovement.X, 0.0f, maxCameraPosition.X); CameraMovement.Y = 0.0f; if (Player.Position.Y < marginTop) //above the top margin CameraMovement.Y = Player.Position.Y - marginTop; else if (Player.Position.Y > marginBottom) //below the bottom margin CameraMovement.Y = Player.Position.Y - marginBottom; maxCameraPosition.Y = 16 * Height - viewport.Height; cameraPosition.Y = MathHelper.Clamp(cameraPosition.Y + CameraMovement.Y, 0.0f, maxCameraPosition.Y); }

    Read the article

  • Advice on reconciling discordant data

    - by Justin
    Let me support my question with a quick scenario. We're writing an app for family meal planning. We'll produce daily plans with a target calorie goal and meals to achieve it for our nuclear family. Our calorie goal will be calculated for each person from their attributes (gender, age, weight, activity level). The weight attribute is the simplest example here. When Dad (the fascist nerd who is inflicting this on his family) first uses the application he throws approximate values into it for Daughter. He thinks she is 5'2" (157 cm) and 125 lbs (56kg). The next day Mom sits down to generate the menu and looks back over what the bumbling Dad did, quietly fumes that he can never recall anything about the family, and says the value is really 118 lbs! This is the first introduction of the discord. It seems, in this scenario, Mom is probably more correct that Dad. Though both are only an approximation of the actual value. The next day the dear Daughter decides to use the program and sees her weight listed. With the vanity only a teenager could muster she changes the weight to 110 lbs. Later that day the Mom returns home from a doctor's visit the Daughter needed and decides that it would be a good idea to update her Daughter's weight in the program. Hooray, another value, this time 117 lbs. Now how do you reconcile these data points? Measurement error, confidence in parties, bias, and more all confound the data. In some idealized world we'd have a weight authority of some nature providing the one and only truth. How about in our world though? And the icing on the cake is that this single data point changes over time. How have you guys solved or managed this conflict?

    Read the article

  • I installed ubuntu, the installer told me to reboot afterwards. I dd, and now linux wont boot

    - by mandy
    Im trying to dual boot between mac 10.6.8 and ubuntu 11.10. I have a macbook pro 8,1. So i installed from a 10.04 disk because the install window makes more sense to me, and it doesnt give me errors or anything. Also, any versions of ubuntu after that dont boot from disk for whatever reason. (i think its having to do with the efi boot thing. i have to get ubuntu 11.10 to boot from a usb with folders bootefiboot.iso) Then my plan after that was after the ubuntu 10.04 install took care of all the swap and stuff for me without being messy, to upgrade to 11.10. So here i have 10.04 booting successfully back and forth from mac osx no problem. I put in my 11.10 usb and the installer gives me the option to "update 10.04 to 11.10" bingo, jackpot, thats what i want. Everything proceeds as normal, as EVERY OTHER install of ubuntu i have ever done, then the installer finishes and says HEY! im finished! Continue testing or reboot now! So i reboot, and what do i get??? A black screen that says the file system isnt found, to enter a boot disk and press any key. WHAT THE HELL????? so i boot the 11.10 installer again from usb, and select "erase 11.10 and install 11.10", installer proceeds normally, and asks me to reboot. I reboot and get the SAME THING. Please, someone, help me get this right here. This is my first time actually dual booting between mac and linux. Usually i just wipe off osx completely and install ubuntu but i actually need to keep my mac partition this time. I have successfully installed 11.10 on this machine before, but that was when i did a clean install. Help?

    Read the article

  • Unity3D : Pause Menu - Android

    - by user3666251
    Im making a 2D game for android.I almost completed the game but now I need a pause game option.I added a pause icon on the top right side of the screen.The icon is a gui texture.Here is what I did so far : I made a script which will bring up some buttons (which is not working) and attached it to the GUITexture.This is the script : #pragma strict function OnMouseDown() { Debug.Log("*Pause Menu Opens*"); Time.timeScale = 0; if (GUI.Button(Rect(10,10,100,50),"Restart")); Application.LoadLevel(Application.loadedLevel); if (GUI.Button(Rect(10,60,100,50),"MainMenu")); Application.LoadLevel("MainMenu"); } Now,the problem stands at the part where the buttons won't show up,the game freezes at the first frame but the buttons won't show up.Please,if you can help I would be realy thankful. Thank you. Edit #1 : I just noticed that when I click "Pause" the game freezes and it takes me to the MainMenu.That's because I added the GUIButton which takes you to the main menu.I think the whole script structure is wrong.I also forgot to mention that Im new in scripting/unity. Thank you.

    Read the article

  • Spring Cleaning

    - by Tim Dexter
    I recently got a shiny new laptop; moving my shiz from old to new, was not the nightmare it used to be. I have gotten into the habit of using a second hard drive in the media bay where the CDROM normally sits. That drive contains my life's work with BIP. I can pull it out and plug it into another machine very easily. I have been sorting through some old directories and files, archiving some, sharing others with colleagues. For instance, a little dated but if you were looking for a list of Publisher reports available in EBS R12.1, here it is. Im trying to track down a more recent R12 instance and will re-post the document. I also found another gem; its a little out there in terms of usefulness but Im sharing it none the less. You can embed, locally or remotely reference SVG graphics (in XML format) and bring the images into the BIP outputs. Template and sample data here. A nice set of templates showing page number control and page suppression - they will need some explanation, so I'll save them for another post. The list goes on but I'll save them for later. Back to the clean up!

    Read the article

  • iOS - UISlider - How to make a slider to auto-move [closed]

    - by drodri420
    its me again. Coming back with another noobish question: This time its , can you make a UISlider move by itself??? I've implemented this on the .m ///This right here makes a slider move 1point from 1 to 100, once it reaches 100 it goes backwards and so on... - (IBAction)moveSlider:(UISlider *)sender { int flag=0, counter=1; while(flag == 0) { counter = counter + (.25 * round); if(counter == 100) { flag = 1; } if(counter < 100 && counter > 1) { slider.value = counter; } } while(flag == 1) { counter = counter - (.25 * round); if(counter == 1) { flag = 0; } if(counter < 100 && counter > 1) { slider.value = counter; } } } And Implemented this on another action: -(void)startNewRound { round+=1; targetValue = 1 + (arc4random() % 100); self.slider.value = currentValue; [self moveSlider:slider]; } I think I lost it along the way and Im just typing pure nonsense but If anyone could point me in the right direction on to which is it that Im doing wrong??

    Read the article

  • Ubuntu 12.10 wont boot

    - by John Mark High
    im new to using Ubuntu and just bought a HP Pavilion g6-2240sa with windows 8 pre installed. I made a bootable USB with Ubuntu on it and installed alsongside windows, for 2 days it worked fine, I got into Ubuntu by doing an advanced restart from windows 8 and then booting Ubuntu from the partition it made. When i did the advanced restart today there was only 1 HDD i could select ( there were 3 before windows, a restore partition that was already there when i got the computer and Ubuntu) so i booted from the USB again and re-installed Ubuntu. then did an advanced restart and the 3 partitions where there again, i booted from Ubuntu and now heres my problem. I get the Ubuntu background when its loading then its just a black screen with some writing, its not on long enough to read, then just a black screen with a white _ and the top left corner that does nothing, i have to restat the computer and it auto boots into windows 8. im a little confused as the first time i installed Ubuntu it worked fine until the partition dissaperd), the second time i installed i did everything the same except it found the old Ubuntu so i reinstalled it and now is donst work.

    Read the article

  • Ubuntu 12.04 fresh install wont boot up

    - by user147220
    im running ubuntu 12.04 and it refuses to boot up. the screen will come on for a second, the mosue will appear, then itll go black again all inside about 3 seconds. i let it just do that for a while and eventually a window popped up saying i had a display issue. I didn't have a mouse but there was a button saying "ok" at the bottom that i couldnt click on. i hit enter, got through that screen, now im looking at another that says "What would you like to do?" - run in low-graphics mode for just one session - reconfigure graphics - troubleshoot the error - exit to console login then two buttons, cancel, and ok. I dont have a mouse and its not letting me navigate between these options with tab. firstly, if i make it through these windows will it get me into the computer so i can try and fix whats going on? also, whats going on here? also, how can i click on these buttons without the use of tab or a mouse?

    Read the article

  • Erfolgreich mit Referenzen

    - by A&C Redaktion
    Erfolgreich umgesetzte Projekte sind die beste Werbung! So wie zum Beispiel der Anwenderbericht mit der DAW-Gruppe, Hersteller der bekannten Marke "Alpinaweiß" sowie vieler anderer Farben, und Oracle Partner Freudenberg IT. Lesen Sie, wie DAW mithilfe der Oracle Database Enterprise Edition 11g und Oracle Advanced Compression die Speicherleistung um 40% erhöhen und bis zu 20% mehr Datenbank-Performance erzielen konnte.  Sie möchten auch einen Anwenderbericht zu einem abgeschlossenen Kundenprojekte haben? So gehts: Schicken Sie einfach ein paar Eckdaten zum Projekt, vorausgesetzt Ihr Endkunde ist einverstanden, an Frau Marion Aschenbrenner, alles weitere übernimmt Oracle - einschließlich der Finanzierung! Folgende Details sollten Sie uns nennen: Kundenname & Ansprechpartner (mit Telefon und Email-Adresse) Eingesetzte Oracle Produkte Kurze Beschreibung des Projektes (3-4 Sätze mit dem Hauptnutzen der Oracle Lösung) Ansprechpartner bei Ihnen im Hause für das Kundenprojekt und alles, was noch wichtig zu wissen ist (Go-Live-Datum, Terminvorschläge, etc.) Nach einer erfolgreichen Prüfung Ihrer Nominierung werden Sie und der Endkunde per Telefon interviewt und ein ausführlicher Anwenderbericht erstellt. Diesen bekommen Sie und ihr Kunde natürlich zur Freigabe vorgelegt. Veröffentlicht werden die Referenzberichte unter anderem hier im Blog und in anderen sozialen Medien.

    Read the article

  • Erfolgreich mit Referenzen

    - by A&C Redaktion
    Erfolgreich umgesetzte Projekte sind die beste Werbung! So wie zum Beispiel der Anwenderbericht mit der DAW-Gruppe, Hersteller der bekannten Marke "Alpinaweiß" sowie vieler anderer Farben, und Oracle Partner Freudenberg IT. Lesen Sie, wie DAW mithilfe der Oracle Database Enterprise Edition 11g und Oracle Advanced Compression die Speicherleistung um 40% erhöhen und bis zu 20% mehr Datenbank-Performance erzielen konnte.  Sie möchten auch einen Anwenderbericht zu einem abgeschlossenen Kundenprojekte haben? So gehts: Schicken Sie einfach ein paar Eckdaten zum Projekt, vorausgesetzt Ihr Endkunde ist einverstanden, an Frau Marion Aschenbrenner, alles weitere übernimmt Oracle - einschließlich der Finanzierung! Folgende Details sollten Sie uns nennen: Kundenname & Ansprechpartner (mit Telefon und Email-Adresse) Eingesetzte Oracle Produkte Kurze Beschreibung des Projektes (3-4 Sätze mit dem Hauptnutzen der Oracle Lösung) Ansprechpartner bei Ihnen im Hause für das Kundenprojekt und alles, was noch wichtig zu wissen ist (Go-Live-Datum, Terminvorschläge, etc.) Nach einer erfolgreichen Prüfung Ihrer Nominierung werden Sie und der Endkunde per Telefon interviewt und ein ausführlicher Anwenderbericht erstellt. Diesen bekommen Sie und ihr Kunde natürlich zur Freigabe vorgelegt. Veröffentlicht werden die Referenzberichte unter anderem hier im Blog und in anderen sozialen Medien.

    Read the article

  • Acer aspire v3 771G ubuntu 13.04

    - by Jos
    Gooday, i have this acer and i have alot of boot problems (i suspect windows 8) and now i want to try ubuntu but when i use an usb to "try" ubuntu after the boot i get a black screen. now ive read some of the forums and i found something about NOMODESET i have not tried this as i dont know what this does exactly. now i have found this wiki entry https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bumblebee , i am by far no programmer and always reading all those commands have always kept me of linux because im scared i will !@#$ things up. is there anyway i can go to NOMODESET in the ubuntu "trial" and can i also include the bumblebee futures (coding?) and in how many ways wil this affect my laptops perfomance? reading the bumblebee entry its seems to be something about nvidia optimus and i dont reallt care much for the power saving, but will it affect any performance? im not a heavy pc gamer but i like tho do some gaming and streaming and such also on a rather big TV in wich this laptop already has it flaws in some games not running properly on 65" if this doesn't work or u advise me not to do this what else can i do to fix windows 8 or either some other linux version? i thankyou in advance

    Read the article

  • Angular JS - shop data disapears after using external payment script

    - by rZaaaa
    Im building a shopping cart in angular JS. till now all goes good but now i am at the checkout phase of y project. The problem is that im using external payment gateways such as ideal etc. when i checkout using for example Ideal the page redirects to the login page of the bank. All i have is a return url When i get to the return url al angular data is gone... I dont know how to do this properly. Also when i checkout and from the back page hit BACK again. the data is also gone and i have to do all the steps again, fill cart etc. So i gues i have to do something with sessions but what is the best way with angular JS how can i do this? The php backend is a slim framework. In the php version of my website i use the session generate id for the "lost" carts. is a user comes back, this session would be the same so i can retrieve his data (other session variables) ...

    Read the article

  • Actionscript - Dropping Multiple Objects Using an Array? [closed]

    - by Eratosthenes
    Possible Duplicate: Actionscript - Dropping Multiple Objects Using an Array? I'm trying to get these fireBalls to drop more often, im not sure if im using Math.random correctly also, for some reason I'm getting a null reference because I think the fireBalls array waits for one to leave the stage before dropping another one? this is the relevant code: var sun:Sun=new Sun var fireBalls:Array=new Array() var left:Boolean; function onEnterFrame(event:Event){ if (left) { sun.x = sun.x - 15; }else{ sun.x = sun.x + 15; } if (fireBalls.length>0&&fireBalls[0].y>stage.stageHeight){ // Fireballs exit stage removeChild(fireBalls[0]); fireBalls.shift(); } for (var j:int=0; j<fireBalls.length; j++){ fireBalls[j].y=fireBalls[j].y+15; if (fireBalls[j].y>stage.stageHeight-fireBall.width/2){ } } if (Math.random()<.2){ // Fireballs shooting from Sun var fireBall:FireBall=new FireBall; fireBall.x=sun.x; addChild(fireBall); fireBalls.push(fireBall); } }

    Read the article

  • C++ Database vs Reading Files

    - by Ohmages
    Ive been programing a C++ game/server for the past year. I have been using MYSQL for character logins, items, monsters, etc, etc. (im on windows). My question is, what are some of the databases that some big time developers use. IE. Battle.net, Diablo II, Diablo III, mythos, hellgate , etc, etc, etc. Do they have their own database they built? Or do they use an existing framework for logins, and character transfers. I do know that in diablo II, they use character files to to transfer characters into the game world. But what about the login into battle.net. Would it be wiser for me to stick with MYSQL, or is there something out there faster and more stable, or should I create a login type of system that looks through a file to see if you provided the correct password. Can't wait to get some replies. Thanks! PS. Currently the framework is much like battle.net, where you login into a lobby, create, and join games. The game server/lobby server are different servers too. So im just wondering about the lobby server for logins because I'm expecting several hundred thousand connections/logins.

    Read the article

  • Atmospheric scattering OpenGL 3.3

    - by user1419305
    Im currently trying to convert a shader by Sean O'Neil to version 330 so i can try it out in a application im writing. Im having some issues with deprecated functions, so i replaced them, but im almost completely new to glsl, so i probably did a mistake somewhere. Original shaders can be found here: http://www.gamedev.net/topic/592043-solved-trying-to-use-atmospheric-scattering-oneill-2004-but-get-black-sphere/ My horrible attempt at converting them: Vertex Shader: #version 330 core layout(location = 0) in vec3 vertexPosition_modelspace; //layout(location = 1) in vec2 vertexUV; layout(location = 2) in vec3 vertexNormal_modelspace; uniform vec3 v3CameraPos; uniform vec3 v3LightPos; uniform vec3 v3InvWavelength; uniform float fCameraHeight; uniform float fCameraHeight2; uniform float fOuterRadius; uniform float fOuterRadius2; uniform float fInnerRadius; uniform float fInnerRadius2; uniform float fKrESun; uniform float fKmESun; uniform float fKr4PI; uniform float fKm4PI; uniform float fScale; uniform float fScaleDepth; uniform float fScaleOverScaleDepth; // passing in matrixes for transformations uniform mat4 MVP; uniform mat4 V; uniform mat4 M; const int nSamples = 4; const float fSamples = 4.0; out vec3 v3Direction; out vec4 gg_FrontColor; out vec4 gg_FrontSecondaryColor; float scale(float fCos) { float x = 1.0 - fCos; return fScaleDepth * exp(-0.00287 + x*(0.459 + x*(3.83 + x*(-6.80 + x*5.25)))); } void main(void) { vec3 v3Pos = vertexPosition_modelspace; vec3 v3Ray = v3Pos - v3CameraPos; float fFar = length(v3Ray); v3Ray /= fFar; vec3 v3Start = v3CameraPos; float fHeight = length(v3Start); float fDepth = exp(fScaleOverScaleDepth * (fInnerRadius - fCameraHeight)); float fStartAngle = dot(v3Ray, v3Start) / fHeight; float fStartOffset = fDepth*scale(fStartAngle); float fSampleLength = fFar / fSamples; float fScaledLength = fSampleLength * fScale; vec3 v3SampleRay = v3Ray * fSampleLength; vec3 v3SamplePoint = v3Start + v3SampleRay * 0.5; vec3 v3FrontColor = vec3(0.0, 0.0, 0.0); for(int i=0; i<nSamples; i++) { float fHeight = length(v3SamplePoint); float fDepth = exp(fScaleOverScaleDepth * (fInnerRadius - fHeight)); float fLightAngle = dot(v3LightPos, v3SamplePoint) / fHeight; float fCameraAngle = dot(v3Ray, v3SamplePoint) / fHeight; float fScatter = (fStartOffset + fDepth*(scale(fLightAngle) - scale(fCameraAngle))); vec3 v3Attenuate = exp(-fScatter * (v3InvWavelength * fKr4PI + fKm4PI)); v3FrontColor += v3Attenuate * (fDepth * fScaledLength); v3SamplePoint += v3SampleRay; } gg_FrontSecondaryColor.rgb = v3FrontColor * fKmESun; gg_FrontColor.rgb = v3FrontColor * (v3InvWavelength * fKrESun); gl_Position = MVP * vec4(vertexPosition_modelspace,1); v3Direction = v3CameraPos - v3Pos; } Fragment Shader: #version 330 core uniform vec3 v3LightPos; uniform float g; uniform float g2; in vec3 v3Direction; out vec4 FragColor; in vec4 gg_FrontColor; in vec4 gg_FrontSecondaryColor; void main (void) { float fCos = dot(v3LightPos, v3Direction) / length(v3Direction); float fMiePhase = 1.5 * ((1.0 - g2) / (2.0 + g2)) * (1.0 + fCos*fCos) / pow(1.0 + g2 - 2.0*g*fCos, 1.5); FragColor = gg_FrontColor + fMiePhase * gg_FrontSecondaryColor; FragColor.a = FragColor.b; } I wrote a function to render a sphere, and im trying to render this shader onto a inverted version of it, the sphere works completely fine, with normals and all. My problem is that the sphere gets rendered all black, so the shader is not working. This is how i'm trying to render the atmosphere inside my main rendering loop. glUseProgram(programAtmosphere); glBindTexture(GL_TEXTURE_2D, 0); //###################### glUniform3f(v3CameraPos, getPlayerPos().x, getPlayerPos().y, getPlayerPos().z); glUniform3f(v3LightPos, lightPos.x / sqrt(lightPos.x * lightPos.x + lightPos.y * lightPos.y), lightPos.y / sqrt(lightPos.x * lightPos.x + lightPos.y * lightPos.y), 0); glUniform3f(v3InvWavelength, 1.0 / pow(0.650, 4.0), 1.0 / pow(0.570, 4.0), 1.0 / pow(0.475, 4.0)); glUniform1fARB(fCameraHeight, 1); glUniform1fARB(fCameraHeight2, 1); glUniform1fARB(fInnerRadius, 6350); glUniform1fARB(fInnerRadius2, 6350 * 6350); glUniform1fARB(fOuterRadius, 6450); glUniform1fARB(fOuterRadius2, 6450 * 6450); glUniform1fARB(fKrESun, 0.0025 * 20.0); glUniform1fARB(fKmESun, 0.0015 * 20.0); glUniform1fARB(fKr4PI, 0.0025 * 4.0 * 3.141592653); glUniform1fARB(fKm4PI, 0.0015 * 4.0 * 3.141592653); glUniform1fARB(fScale, 1.0 / (6450 - 6350)); glUniform1fARB(fScaleDepth, 0.25); glUniform1fARB(fScaleOverScaleDepth, 4.0 / (6450 - 6350)); glUniform1fARB(g, -0.85); glUniform1f(g2, -0.85 * -0.85); // vertices glEnableVertexAttribArray(0); glBindBuffer(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, vertexbuffer[1]); glVertexAttribPointer( 0, // attribute 3, // size GL_FLOAT, // type GL_FALSE, // normalized? 0, // stride (void*)0 // array buffer offset ); // normals glEnableVertexAttribArray(2); glBindBuffer(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, normalbuffer[1]); glVertexAttribPointer( 2, // attribute 3, // size GL_FLOAT, // type GL_FALSE, // normalized? 0, // stride (void*)0 // array buffer offset ); glBindBuffer(GL_ELEMENT_ARRAY_BUFFER, elementbuffer[1]); glUniformMatrix4fv(ModelMatrixAT, 1, GL_FALSE, &ModelMatrix[0][0]); glUniformMatrix4fv(ViewMatrixAT, 1, GL_FALSE, &ViewMatrix[0][0]); glUniformMatrix4fv(ModelViewPAT, 1, GL_FALSE, &MVP[0][0]); // Draw the triangles glDrawElements( GL_TRIANGLES, // mode cubeIndices[1], // count GL_UNSIGNED_SHORT, // type (void*)0 // element array buffer offset ); Any ideas?

    Read the article

  • Skanska Builds Global Workforce Insight with Cloud-Based HCM System

    - by HCM-Oracle
    By David Baum - Originally posted on Profit Peter Bjork grew up building things. He started his work life learning all sorts of trades at his father’s construction company in the northern part of Sweden. So in college, it was natural for him to pursue a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering—but he broke new ground when he added a master’s degree in finance to his curriculum vitae. Written on a traditional résumé, Bjork’s current title (vice president of information systems strategies) doesn’t reveal the diversity of his experience—that he’s adept with hammer and nails as well as rows and columns. But a big part of his current job is to work with his counterparts in human resources (HR) designing, building, and deploying the systems needed to get a complete view of the skills and potential of Skanska’s 22,000-strong white-collar workforce. And Bjork believes that complete view is essential to Skanska’s success. “Our business is really all about people,” says Bjork, who has worked with Skanska for 16 years. “You can have equipment and financial resources, but to truly succeed in a business like ours you need to have the right people in the right places. That’s what this system is helping us accomplish.” In a global HR environment that suffers from a paradox of high unemployment and a scarcity of skilled labor, managers need to have a complete understanding of workforce capabilities to develop management skills, recruit for open positions, ensure that staff is getting the training they need, and reduce attrition. Skanska’s human capital management (HCM) systems, based on Oracle Talent Management Cloud, play a critical role delivering that understanding. “Skanska’s philosophy of having great people, encouraging their development, and giving them the chance to move across business units has nurtured a culture of collaboration, but managing a diverse workforce spread across the globe is a monumental challenge,” says Annika Lindholm, global human resources system owner in the HR department at Skanska’s headquarters just outside of Stockholm, Sweden. “We depend heavily on Oracle’s cloud technology to support our HCM function.” Construction, Workers For Skanska’s more than 60,000 employees and contractors, managing huge construction projects is an everyday job. Beyond erecting signature buildings, management’s goal is to build a corporate culture where valuable talent can be sought out and developed, bringing in the right mix of people to support and grow the business. “Of all the companies in our space, Skanska is probably one of the strongest ones, with a laser focus on people and people development,” notes Tom Crane, chief HR and communications officer for Skanska in the United States. “Our business looks like equipment and material, but all we really have at the end of the day are people and their intellectual capital. Without them, second only to clients, of course, you really can’t achieve great things in the high-profile environment in which we work.” During the 1990s, Skanska entered an expansive growth phase. A string of successful acquisitions paved the way for the company’s transformation into a global enterprise. “Today the company’s focus is on profitable growth,” continues Crane. “But you can’t really achieve growth unless you are doing a very good job of developing your people and having the right people in the right places and driving a culture of growth.” In the United States alone, Skanska has more than 8,000 employees in four distinct business units: Skanska USA Building, also known as the Construction Manager, builds everything at ground level and above—hospitals, educational facilities, stadiums, airport terminals, and other massive projects. Skanska USA Civil does everything at ground level and below, such as light rail, water treatment facilities, power plants or power industry facilities, highways, and bridges. Skanska Infrastructure Development develops public-private partnerships—projects in which Skanska adds equity and also arranges for outside financing. Skanska Commercial Development acts like a commercial real estate developer, acquiring land and building offices on spec or build-to-suit for its clients. Skanska's international portfolio includes construction of the new Meadowlands Stadium. Getting the various units to operate collaboratatively helps Skanska deliver high value to clients and shareholders. “When we have this collaboration among units, it allows us to enrich each of the business units and, at the same time, develop our future leaders to be more facile in operating across business units—more accepting of a ‘one Skanska’ approach,” explains Crane. Workforce Worldwide But HR needs processes and tools to support managers who face such business dynamics. Oracle Talent Management Cloud is helping Skanska implement world-class recruiting strategies and generate the insights needed to drive quality hiring practices, internal mobility, and a proactive approach to building talent pipelines. With their new cloud system in place, Skanska HR leaders can manage everything from recruiting, compensation, and goal and performance management to employee learning and talent review—all as part of a single, cohesive software-as-a-service (SaaS) environment. Skanska has successfully implemented two modules from Oracle Talent Management Cloud—the recruiting and performance management modules—and is in the process of implementing the learn module. Internally, they call the systems Skanska Recruit, Skanska Talent, and Skanska Learn. The timing is apropos. With high rates of unemployment in recent years, there have been many job candidates on the market. However, talent scarcity continues to frustrate recruiters. Oracle Taleo Recruiting Cloud Service, one of the applications in the Oracle Talent Management cloud portfolio, enables Skanska managers to create more-intelligent recruiting strategies, pulling high-performer profile statistics to create new candidate profiles and using multitiered screening and assessments to ensure that only the best-suited candidate applications make it to the recruiter’s desk. Tools such as applicant tracking, interview management, and requisition management help recruiters and hiring managers streamline the hiring process. Oracle’s cloud-based software system automates and streamlines many other HR processes for Skanska’s multinational organization and delivers insight into the success of recruiting and talent-management efforts. “The Oracle system is definitely helping us to construct global HR processes,” adds Bjork. “It is really important that we have a business model that is decentralized, so we can effectively serve our local markets, and interact with our global ERP [enterprise resource planning] systems as well. We would not be able to do this without a really good, well-integrated HCM system that could support these efforts.” A key piece of this effort is something Skanska has developed internally called the Skanska Leadership Profile. Core competencies, on which all employees are measured, are used in performance reviews to determine weak areas but also to discover talent, such as those who will be promoted or need succession plans. This global profiling system brings consistency to the way HR professionals evaluate and review talent across the company, with a consistent set of ratings and a consistent definition of competencies. All salaried employees in Skanska are tied to a talent management process that gives opportunity for midyear and year-end reviews. Using the performance management module, managers can align individual goals with corporate goals; provide clear visibility into how each employee contributes to the success of the organization; and drive a strategic, end-to-end talent management strategy with a single, integrated system for all talent-related activities. This is critical to a company that is highly focused on ensuring that every employee has a development plan linked to his or her succession potential. “Our approach all along has been to deploy software applications that are seamless to end users,” says Crane. “The beauty of a cloud-based system is that much of the functionality takes place behind the scenes so we can focus on making sure users can access the data when they need it. This model greatly improves their efficiency.” The employee profile not only sets a competency baseline for new employees but is also integrated with Skanska’s other back-office Oracle systems to ensure consistency in the way information is used to support other business functions. “Since we have about a dozen different HR systems that are providing us with information, we built a master database that collects all the information,” explains Lindholm. “That data is sent not only to Oracle Talent Management Cloud, but also to other systems that are dependent on this information.” Collaboration to Scale Skanska is poised to launch a new Oracle module to link employee learning plans to the review process and recruitment assessments. According to Crane, connecting these processes allows Skanska managers to see employees’ progress and produce an updated learning program. For example, as employees take classes, supervisors can consult the Oracle Talent Management Cloud portal to monitor progress and align it to each individual’s training and development plan. “That’s a pretty compelling solution for an organization that wants to manage its talent on a real-time basis and see how the training is working,” Crane says. Rolling out Oracle Talent Management Cloud was a joint effort among HR, IT, and a global group that oversaw the worldwide implementation. Skanska deployed the solution quickly across all markets at once. In the United States, for example, more than 35 offices quickly got up to speed on the new system via webinars for employees and face-to-face training for the HR group. “With any migration, there are moments when you hold your breath, but in this case, we had very few problems getting the system up and running,” says Crane. Lindholm adds, “There has been very little resistance to the system as users recognize its potential. Customizations are easy, and a lasting partnership has developed between Skanska and Oracle when help is needed. They listen to us.” Bjork elaborates on the implementation process from an IT perspective. “Deploying a SaaS system removes a lot of the complexity,” he says. “You can downsize the IT part and focus on the business part, which increases the probability of a successful implementation. If you want to scale the system, you make a quick phone call. That’s all it took recently when we added 4,000 users. We didn’t have to think about resizing the servers or hiring more IT people. Oracle does that for us, and they have provided very good support.” As a result, Skanska has been able to implement a single, cost-effective talent management solution across the organization to support its strategy to recruit and develop a world-class staff. Stakeholders are confident that they are providing the most efficient recruitment system possible for competent personnel at all levels within the company—from skilled workers at construction sites to top management at headquarters. And Skanska can retain skilled employees and ensure that they receive the development opportunities they need to grow and advance.

    Read the article

  • What is the best practice with KML files when adding geositemap?

    - by Floran
    Im not sure how to deal with kml files. Now important particularly in reference to the Google Venice update. My site basically is a guide of many company listings (sort of Yellow Pages). I want each company listing to have a geolocation associated with it. Which of the options I present below is the way to go? OPTION 1: all locations in a single KML file with a reference to that KML file from a geositemap.xml MYGEOSITEMAP.xml <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9" xmlns:geo="http://www.google.com/geo/schemas/sitemap/1.0"> <url><loc>http://www.mysite.com/locations.kml</loc> <geo:geo> <geo:format>kml</geo:format></geo:geo></url> </urlset> ALLLOCATIONS.kml <kml xmlns="http://www.opengis.net/kml/2.2" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"> <Document> <name>MyCompany</name> <atom:author> <atom:name>MyCompany</atom:name> </atom:author> <atom:link href="http://www.mysite.com/locations/3454/MyCompany" rel="related" /> <Placemark> <name>MyCompany, Kalverstraat 26 Amsterdam 1000AG</name> <description><![CDATA[<address><a href="http://www.mysite.com/locations/3454/MyCompany">MyCompany</a><br />Address: Kalverstraat 26, Amsterdam 1000AG <br />Phone: 0646598787</address><p>hello there, im MyCompany</p>]]> </description><Point><coordinates>5.420686499999965,51.6298808,0</coordinates> </Point> </Placemark> </Document> </kml> <kml xmlns="http://www.opengis.net/kml/2.2" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"> <Document> <name>MyCompany</name><atom:author><atom:name>MyCompany</atom:name></atom:author><atom:link href="http://www.mysite.com/locations/22/companyX" rel="related" /><Placemark><name>MyCompany, Rosestreet 45 Amsterdam 1001XF </name><description><![CDATA[<address><a href="http://www.mysite.com/locations/22/companyX">companyX</a><br />Address: Rosestreet 45, Amsterdam 1001XF <br />Phone: 0642195493</address><p>some text about companyX</p>]]></description><Point><coordinates>5.520686499889632,51.6197705,0</coordinates></Point></Placemark> </Document> </kml> OPTION 2: a separate KML file for each location and a reference to each KML file from a geositemap.xml (kml files placed in a \kmlfiles folder) MYGEOSITEMAP.xml <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9" xmlns:geo="http://www.google.com/geo/schemas/sitemap/1.0"> <url><loc>http://www.mysite.com/kmlfiles/3454_MyCompany.kml</loc> <geo:geo> <geo:format>kml</geo:format></geo:geo></url> <url><loc>http://www.mysite.com/kmlfiles/22_companyX.kml</loc> <geo:geo> <geo:format>kml</geo:format></geo:geo></url> </urlset> *3454_MyCompany.kml* <kml xmlns="http://www.opengis.net/kml/2.2" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"> <Document><name>MyCompany</name><atom:author><atom:name>MyCompany</atom:name></atom:author><atom:link href="http://www.mysite.com/locations/3454/MyCompany" rel="related" /><Placemark><name>MyCompany, Kalverstraat 26 Amsterdam 1000AG</name><description><![CDATA[<address><a href="http://www.mysite.com/locations/3454/MyCompany">MyCompany</a><br />Address: Kalverstraat 26, Amsterdam 1000AG <br />Phone: 0646598787</address><p>hello there, im MyCompany</p>]]></description><Point><coordinates>5.420686499999965,51.6298808,0</coordinates></Point></Placemark> </Document> </kml> *22_companyX.kml* <kml xmlns="http://www.opengis.net/kml/2.2" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"> <Document><name>companyX</name><atom:author><atom:name>companyX</atom:name></atom:author><atom:link href="http://www.mysite.com/locations/22/companyX" rel="related" /><Placemark><name>companyX, Rosestreet 45 Amsterdam 1001XF </name><description><![CDATA[<address><a href="http://www.mysite.com/locations/22/companyX">companyX</a><br />Address: Rosestreet 45, Amsterdam 1001XF <br />Phone: 0642195493</address><p>some text about companyX</p>]]></description><Point><coordinates>5.520686499889632,51.6197705,0</coordinates></Point></Placemark> </Document> </kml> OPTION 3?

    Read the article

  • Clone a VirtualBox Machine

    I just installed VirtualBox, which I want to try out based on recommendations from peers for running a server from within my Windows 7 x64 OS.  Ive never used VirtualBox, so Im certainly no expert at it, but I did want to share my experience with it thus far.  Specifically, my intention is to create a couple of virtual machines.  One I intend to use as a build server, for which a virtual machine makes sense because I can easily move it around as needed if there are hardware issues (its worth noting my need for setting up a build server at the moment is a result of a disk failure on the old build server).  The other VM I want to set up will act as a proxy server for the issue tracking system were using at Code Project, Axosoft OnTime.  They have a Remote Server application for this purpose, and since the OnTime install is 300 miles away from my location, the Remote Server should speed up my use of the OnTime client by limiting the chattiness with the database (at least, thats the hope). So, I need two VMs, and Im lazy.  I dont want to have to install the OS and such twice.  No problem, it should be simple to clone a virtualbox machine, or clone a virtualbox hard drive, right?  Well unfortunately, if you look at the UI for VirtualBox, theres no such command.  Youre left wondering How do I clone a VirtualBox machine? or the slightly related How do I clone a VirtualBox hard drive? If youve used VirtualPC, then you know that its actually pretty easy to copy and move around those VMs.  Not quite so easy with VirtualBox.  Finding the files is easy, theyre located in your user folder within the .VirtualBox folder (possibly within a HardDisks folder).  The disks have a .vdi extension and will be pretty large if youve installed anything.  The one shown here has just Windows Server 2008 R2 installed on it nothing else. If you copy the .vdi file and rename it, you can use the Virtual Media Manager to view it and you can create a new machine and choose the new drive to attach to.  Unfortunately, if you simply make a copy of the drive, this wont work and youll get an error that says something to the effect of: Cannot register the hard disk PATH with UUID {id goes here} because a hard disk PATH2 with UUID {same id goes here} already exists in the media registry (PATH to XML file). There are command line tools you can use to do this in a way that avoids this error.  Specifically, the c:\Program File\Sun\VirtualBox\VBoxManage.exe program is used for all command line access to VirtualBox, and to copy a virtual disk (.vdi file) you would call something like this: VBoxManage clonehd Disk1.vdi Disk1_Copy.vdi However, in my case this didnt work.  I got basically the same error I showed above, along with some debug information for line 628 of VBoxManageDisk.cpp.  As my main task was not to debug the C++ code used to write VirtualBox, I continued looking for a simple way to clone a virtual drive.  I found it in this blog post. The Secret setvdiuuid Command VBoxManage has a whole bunch of commands you can use with it just pass it /? to see the list.  However, it also has a special command called internalcommands that opens up access to even more commands.  The one thats interesting for us here is the setvdiuuid command.  By calling this command and passing in the file path to your vdi file, it will reset the UUID to a new (random, apparently) UUID.  This then allows the virtual media manager to cope with the file, and lets you set up new machines that reference the newly UUIDd virtual drive.  The full command line would be: VBoxManage internalcommands setvdiuuid MyCopy.vdi The following screenshot shows the error when trying clonehd as well as the successful use of setvdiuuid. Summary Now that I can clone machines easily, its a simple matter to set up base builds of any OS I might need, and then fork from there as needed.  Hopefully the GUI for VirtualBox will be improved to include better support for copying machines/disks, as this is Im sure a very common scenario. Did you know that DotNetSlackers also publishes .net articles written by top known .net Authors? We already have over 80 articles in several categories including Silverlight. Take a look: here.

    Read the article

  • Three Easy Ways of Providing Feedback to the Oracle AutoVue Team

    - by Celine Beck
    Customer feedback is essential in helping us deliver best-in-class Enterprise Visualization solutions which are centered around real-world usage. As the Oracle AutoVue Product Management team is busy prioritizing the next round of improvements, enhancements and new innovation to the AutoVue platform, I thought it would be a good idea to provide our blog-readers with a recap of how best to provide product feedback to the AutoVue Product Management team. This gives you the opportunity to help shape our future agenda and make our solutions better for you. Enterprise Visualization Special Interest Group (EV SIG): the AutoVue EV SIG is a customer-driven initiative that has recently been created to share knowledge and information between members and discuss common and best practices around Enterprise Visualization. The EV SIG also serves as a mechanism for establishing and communicating to AutoVue Product Management users’ collective priorities for the future development, direction and enhancement of the AutoVue product family with the objective of ensuring their continuous improvement. Essentially, EV SIG members meet in order to share and prioritize feedback and use this input to begin dialog with the AutoVue Product Management team on what they deem to be the most important improvements to Enterprise Visualization solutions. The AutoVue EV SIG is by far the best platform for sharing and relaying feedback to our Product Strategy / Management team regarding general product enhancements, industry-specific scenarios, new use cases, usability, support, deployability, etc, and helping us shape the future direction of Enterprise Visualization solutions. We strongly encourage ALL our customers to sign up for the SIG;  here is how you can do so: Sign up for the EVSIG mailing list b.    Visit the group’s website c.    Contact Dennis Walker at Harris Corporation directly should you have any questions: dwalke22-AT-harris-DOT-com Customer / Partner Advisory Boards: The AutoVue Product Strategy / Management team also periodically runs Customer and Partner Advisory Boards. These invitation-only events bring together individuals chosen from Oracle AutoVue’s top customers that are using AutoVue at the enterprise level, as well as strategic partners.  The idea here is to establish open lines of communication between top customers and partners and the Oracle AutoVue Product Strategy team, help us communicate AutoVue’s product direction, share perspectives on today and tomorrow’s challenges and needs for Enterprise Visualization, and validate that proposed additions to the product are valid industry solutions. Our next Customer / Partner Advisory Board will be held in San Francisco during Oracle Open World, please contact your account manager to find out more about the CAB Members’ nomination process. Enhancement Requests:  Enhancement requests are request logged by customers or partners with Product Development for a feature that is not currently available in Oracle AutoVue. Enhancement requests (ER) can be logged easily via the My Oracle Support portal. This is the best way to share feedback with us at the functionality level; for instance if you would like to see a new format supported in AutoVue or make suggestions as per how certain functionality can be improved or should behave. Once the ER is logged, it is then evaluated by Product Management based on feasibility, product adequation and business justification. Product Management then decides whether to consider this ER for future release or not. What helps accelerate the process is hearing from a large number of customers who urgently need a particular feature or configuration. Hence the importance of logging Metalink Service Requests, and describing in details your business expectations. You can include key milestones dates and justifications as to why this request is important and the benefits your organization stands to gain should this request be accepted. Again, feedback from customers and partners is critical to ensure we offer solutions that have the biggest impact on customers’ business processes and day-to-day operations. All feedback is welcome,. So please don’t be shy! 

    Read the article

  • Silverlight Cream for December 13, 2010 -- #1010

    - by Dave Campbell
    In this Issue: Rénald Nollet, Benjamin Gavin, Dennis Doomen, Tim Greenfield, Mike Taulty, Jeff Blankenburg, Michael Crump, Laurent Duveau, Dragos Manolescu, KeyboardP, Yochay Kiriaty. Above the Fold: Silverlight: "Silverlight RIA Services and Basic, Anonymous Authentication" Benjamin Gavin WP7: "lving Circular Navigation in Windows Phone Silverlight Applications" Yochay Kiriaty SQL Azure: "SQL Azure Database Manager – Part 1 : How to connect to your SQL Azure DB" Rénald Nollet Shoutouts: Yochay Kiriaty has a post up on the Windows Phone Devloper Blog about open source (MSPL) projects helping WP7 devs: Windows Phone Recipes – Helping the Community Jesse Liberty's latest Yet Another Podcast is up and thie time it's Joe Stagner: Yet Another Podcast #18 – Joe Stagner Josh Schwartzberg sent me this link to what is apparently his yearly web-only rock Christmas album: MetalXmas... done in Silverlight and RIA Services From SilverlightCream.com: SQL Azure Database Manager – Part 1 : How to connect to your SQL Azure DB Rénald Nollet posted Part 1 of a series on a SQL Azure database manager all in Silverlight... has a live demo running, some description, and is making us wait for the next part! Silverlight RIA Services and Basic, Anonymous Authentication Benjamin Gavin has a quick post up resolving a basic RIA Services problem that I bet a lot of folks are looking for the answer on... like 500 series errors... cool little find he ferreted out... A night of Silverlight, WPF, unit testing and Caliburn Micro Dennis Doomen in concert with his employer gave a couple talks at the local DotNED user group, and covered literally a cornucopia of topics... slides, and example code for both talks... lotsa material here... Tim Greenfield on PuzzleTouch WP7 Application Tim Greenfield is the latest WP7 app developer to be interviewed by the SilverlightShow crew... lots of interesting comments and insight from Tim. Rebuilding the PDC 2010 Silverlight Application (Part 4) Mike Taulty has part 4 of his PDC 2010 Silverlight app construction project up and is taking the app into Blend, and the considerations that brought to the table. What I Learned In WP7 – Issue #2 Jeff Blankenburg continues his "What I Learned" series with this discussion about fonts, the Non-Linear Navigation service I mention below, and possible WP7 jobs. Part 3 of 4 : Tips/Tricks for Silverlight Developers Michael Crump has Part 3 of his Tips/Tricks up today. Lots of goodies this time: underlining in a TextBlock, getting browser info, startup params, VisualTreeHelper, and child windows. My Windows Phone 7 presentation in Montreal Laurent Duveau gave a WP7 presentation in Montreal as part of the Microsoft Windows Phone 7 Developer's Briefing, and has posted his materials and slide deck WP7 Code: Mocking Event Streams with IEnumerable Dragos Manolescu has a very cool post up on using IEnumerable to Mock event streams by leveraging the IObservable/IEnumerable duality, and uses the 2D bubble app that you can run and test in the emulator without needing an accelerometer Transparent Wallpapers – Video Tutorial KeyboardP has had so many queries about his Transparent wallpaper for WP7 that he produced a video tutorial for it... Solving Circular Navigation in Windows Phone Silverlight Applications Yochay Kiriaty discusses the first recipe they are releasing ... see the shoutout above, a Nonlinear Navigation Service ... to help with apps that have loops in navigation. Stay in the 'Light! Twitter SilverlightNews | Twitter WynApse | WynApse.com | Tagged Posts | SilverlightCream Join me @ SilverlightCream | Phoenix Silverlight User Group Technorati Tags: Silverlight    Silverlight 3    Silverlight 4    Windows Phone MIX10

    Read the article

  • Oracle Announces Oracle Insurance Policy Administration for Life and Annuity 9.4

    - by helen.pitts(at)oracle.com
    Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Today's global insurers require the ability to provide higher levels of service and quickly bring to market life insurance and annuity products that not only help them stand out from the competition, but also stay current with local legislation. To succeed, they require agile and flexible core systems that enable them to meet the unique localization requirements of the markets in which they operate, whether in North America, Asia Pacific or the Pan-European Region. The release of Oracle Insurance Policy Administration for Life and Annuity 9.4, announced today, helps insurers meet this need with expanded international market capabilities that enable them to reduce risk and profitably compete wherever their business takes them. It offers expanded multi-language along with unit-linked product and fund processing capabilities that enable regional and global insurers to rapidly configure and deliver localized products – along with providing better service for end users through a single policy admin solution. Key enhancements include: Kanji/Kana language support, pre-defined content, and imperial date processing for the Japanese market New localization flexibility for configuring and managing international mailing addresses along with regional variations for client information Enhanced capability to calculate unit-linked pricing and valuation, in addition to market-based processing and pre-configured unit linked content Expanded role-based security and masking capability to further protect sensitive customer data Enhanced capability to restrict processing specified activities based on time of day and user role, reducing exposure to market timing risks Further capability to eliminate duplicate client records, helping to reduce underwriting risks and enhance servicing through a single view of the client "The ability to leverage a single, rules-driven policy administration system for multiple global operation centers can help insurers realize significant improvements in speed to market, customer service, compliance with regional regulations, and consolidation efforts,” noted Celent's Craig Weber, senior vice president, Insurance. “We believe such initiatives are necessary to help the industry address service and distribution imperatives." Helping our customers meet these mission-critical business imperatives is a key objective for Oracle Insurance. Active, ongoing dialogue with our customers is an important part of the process to help understand how our solutions are and can continue to help them achieve success in the marketplace. I had the opportunity to meet with several of our insurance customers at the Oracle Insurance Policy Administration Client Advisory Board meeting last week in Philadelphia, Penn. (View photos on the Oracle Insurance Facebook page.)   It was a great forum for Oracle Insurance and our clients. Discussion centered on the latest business and IT trends, with opportunities to learn more about the latest release of Oracle Insurance Policy Administration for Life and Annuity and other Oracle Insurance solutions such as data warehousing / business intelligence, while exchanging best practices for product innovation and servicing customers and sales channels. Helen Pitts is senior product marketing manager for Oracle Insurance's life and annuities solutions.

    Read the article

  • Partner outreach on the Oracle Fusion Applications user experience begins

    - by mvaughan
    by Misha Vaughan, Architect, Applications User Experience I have been asked the question repeatedly since about December of last year: “What is the Applications User Experience group doing about partner outreach?”  My answer, at the time, was: “We are thinking about it.”  My colleagues and I were really thinking about the content or tools that the Applications UX group should be developing. What would be valuable to our partners? What will actually help grow their applications business, and fits within the applications user experience charter?In the video above, you’ll hear Jeremy Ashley, vice president of the Applications User Experience team, talk about two fundamental initiatives that our group is working on now that speaks straight to partners.  Special thanks to Joel Borellis, Kelley Greenly, and Steve Hoodmaker for helping to make this video happen so flawlessly. Steve was responsible for pulling together a day of Oracle Fusion Applications-oriented content, including David Bowin, Director, Fusion Applications Strategy, on some of the basic benefits of Oracle Fusion Applications.  Joel Borellis, Group Vice President, Partner Enablement, and David Bowin in the Oracle Studios.Nigel King, Vice President Applications Functional Architecture, was also on the list, talking about co-existence opportunities with Oracle Fusion Applications.Me and Nigel King, just before his interview with Joel. Fusion Applications User Experience 101: Basic education  Oracle has invested an enormous amount of intellectual and developmental effort in the Oracle Fusion Applications user experience. Find out more about that at the Oracle Partner Network Fusion Learning Center (Oracle ID required). What you’ll learn will help you uncover how, exactly, Oracle made Fusion General Ledger “sexy,” and that’s a direct quote from Oracle Ace Director Debra Lilley, of Fujitsu. In addition, select Applications User Experience staff members, as well as our own Fusion User Experience Advocates,  can provide a briefing to our partners on Oracle’s investment in the Oracle Fusion Applications user experience. Looking forward: Taking the best of the Fusion Applications UX to your customersBeyond a basic orientation to one of the key differentiators for Oracle Fusion Applications, we are also working on partner-oriented training.A question we are often getting right now is: “How do I help customers build applications that look like Fusion?” We also hear: “How do I help customers build applications that take advantage of the next-generation design work done in Fusion?”Our answer to this is training and a tool – our user experience design patterns – these are a set of user experience best-practices. Design patterns are re-usable, usability-tested, user experience components that make creating Fusion Applications-like experiences straightforward.  It means partners can leverage Oracle’s investment, but also gain an advantage by not wasting time solving a problem we’ve already solved. Their developers can focus on helping customers tackle the harder development challenges. Ultan O’Broin, an Apps UX team member,  and I are working with Kevin Li and Chris Venezia of the Oracle Platform Technology Services team, as well as Grant Ronald in Oracle ADF, to bring you some of the best “how-to” UX training, customized for your local area. Our first workshop will be in EMEA. Stay tuned for an assessment and feedback from the event.

    Read the article

  • Should I break contract early?

    - by cbang
    About 7 months ago I made the switch from a 5 year permie role (as a support developer in C#) to a contract role. I did this because I was stagnating in my old role. The extra cash contracting is really helping too. Unfortunately my team leader has taken a dislike to me from day 1. He regularly tells me I went out contracting too early, and frequently remarks that people in their 20's have no idea what they are talking about (I am 29). I was recently given the task of configuring our reports via our in house reporting library. It works off of a database driven criteria base, with controls being loaded as needed. The configs can get fairly complex, with controls having various levels of dependency on each other. I had a short time frame to get 50 reports working, and I was told to just get the basic configuration done, after which they will be handed over to the reporting team for fine tuning, then the test team. Our updated system was deployed 2 weeks ago, and it turned out that about 15 reports had issues causing incorrect data to be returned. Upon investigation I discovered that the reporting team hadn't even looked at them, and the test team hadn't bothered to test the reports. In spite of this, my team leader has told me that it is 100% my fault. As a result, our help desk got hit hard. I worked back until 2am that night to fix the highest priority issues (on my wedding anniversary!). The next day I arrive at work at 7:45 am to continue with the fixes. I got no thanks, but keep getting repeatedly told by my manager that "I fucked up" and "this is all my fault". I told my team leader I would spend part of my weekend working to fix the remaining issues. His response was "so you fucking should! you fucked it all up!" in front of the rest of the team. I responded "No worries." and left. I spent a decent chunk of my weekend working on it. Within 2 business days of finding out about the issues, I had all the medium and high priority issues fixed. The only comments my team leader has made to me in the last 2 weeks is to tell me how I have caused a big mess, and to tell me it was all my fault. I get this multiple times a day. If I make any jokes to anyone else in the team, I get told not to be a smartass... even though the rest of the team jokes throughout the day. Apart from that, all I get is angry looks any time I am anywhere near the guy. I don't give any response other than "alright" or silence when he starts giving me a hard time. Today we found out that the pilot release for the next stage has been pushed back. My team leader has said this was caused by me (but the higher ups said no such thing). He also said I have "no understanding of the ramifications of my actions". My question is, should I break contract (I am contracted until June 30) and find another role? No one else in my team will speak up in my favour, as they are contractors too and have no interest in rocking the boat. I could complain to my team leaders boss, but I can't see that helping, as I will still be stuck in the same team. As this is my first contract, I imagine getting the next one will be hard without a reference. I can't figure out if this guy is trying to get me fired up to provoke a confrontation (the guy loves conflict), or if he is just venting anger, or what. Copping this blame day after day is really wearing me down and making me depressed... especially since I have a wife and kid to support).

    Read the article

  • How to prepare for a programming competition? Graphs, Stacks, Trees, oh my! [closed]

    - by Simucal
    Last semester I attended ACM's (Association for Computing Machinery) bi-annual programming competition at a local University. My University sent 2 teams of 3 people and we competed amongst other schools in the mid-west. We got our butts kicked. You are given a packet with about 11 problems (1 problem per page) and you have 4 hours to solve as many as you can. They'll run your program you submit against a set of data and your output must match theirs exactly. In fact, the judging is automated for the most part. In any case.. I went there fairly confident in my programming skills and I left there feeling drained and weak. It was a terribly humbling experience. In 4 hours my team of 3 people completed only one of the problems. The top team completed 4 of them and took 1st place. The problems they asked were like no problems I have ever had to answer before. I later learned that in order to solve them some of them effectively you have to use graphs/graph algorithms, trees, stacks. Some of them were simply "greedy" algo's. My question is, how can I better prepare for this semesters programming competition so I don't leave there feeling like a complete moron? What tips do you have for me to be able to answer these problems that involve graphs, trees, various "well known" algorithms? How can I easily identify the algorithm we should implement for a given problem? I have yet to take Algorithm Design in school so I just feel a little out of my element. Here are some examples of the questions asked at the competitions: ACM Problem Sets Update: Just wanted to update this since the latest competition is over. My team placed 1st for our small region (about 6-7 universities with between 1-5 teams each school) and ~15th for the midwest! So, it is a marked improvement over last years performance for sure. We also had no graduate students on our team and after reviewing the rules we found out that many teams had several! So, that would be a pretty big advantage in my own opinion. Problems this semester ranged from about 1-2 "easy" problems (ie bit manipulation, string manipulation) to hard (graph problems involving fairly complex math and network flow problems). We were able to solve 4 problems in our 5 hours. Just wanted to thank everyone for the resources they provided here, we used them for our weekly team practices and it definitely helped! Some quick tips that I have that aren't suggested below: When you are seated at your computer before the competition starts, quickly type out various data structures that you might need that you won't have access to in your languages libraries. I typed out a Graph data-structure complete with floyd-warshall and dijkstra's algorithm before the competition began. We ended up using it in our 2nd problem that we solved and this is the main reason why we solved this problem before anyone else in the midwest. We had it ready to go from the beginning. Similarly, type out the code to read in a file since this will be required for every problem. Save this answer "template" someplace so you can quickly copy/paste it to your IDE at the beginning of each problem. There are no rules on programming anything before the competition starts so get any boilerplate code out the way. We found it useful to have one person who is on permanent whiteboard duty. This is usually the person who is best at math and at working out solutions to get a head start on future problems you will be doing. One person is on permanent programming duty. Your fastest/most skilled "programmer" (most familiar with the language). This will save debugging time also. The last person has several roles between assessing the packet of problems for the next "easiest" problem, helping the person on the whiteboard work out solutions and helping the person programming work out bugs/issues. This person needs to be flexible and be able to switch between roles easily.

    Read the article

  • C++ JSON parser

    - by pollux
    Dear reader, I'm working on a twitter client which uses the twitter streaming json api. Twitter advices JSON as XML version is deprecated. I'm looking for a good JSON parser which can parse the json data below. I'm receiving this JSON which I want to be able to read/parse using a JSON parser. { "in_reply_to_status_id": null, "text": "Home-plate umpire Crawford gets stung http://tinyurl.com/27ujc86", "favorited": false, "coordinates": null, "in_reply_to_user_id": null, "source": "<a href=\"http://apiwiki.twitter.com/\" rel=\"nofollow\">API</a>", "geo": null, "created_at": "Fri Jun 18 15:12:06 +0000 2010", "place": null, "user": { "profile_text_color": "333333", "screen_name": "HostingViral", "time_zone": "Pacific Time (US & Canada)", "url": "http://bit.ly/1Way7P", "profile_link_color": "228235", "profile_background_image_url": "http://s.twimg.com/a/1276654401/images/themes/theme14/bg.gif", "description": "Full time Internet Marketer - Helping other reach their Goals\r\nhttp://wavemarker.com", "statuses_count": 1944, "profile_sidebar_fill_color": "c7b7c7", "profile_background_tile": true, "contributors_enabled": false, "lang": "en", "notifications": null, "created_at": "Wed Dec 30 07:50:52 +0000 2009", "profile_sidebar_border_color": "120412", "following": null, "geo_enabled": false, "followers_count": 2485, "protected": false, "friends_count": 2495, "location": "Working at Home", "name": "Johnathan Thomas", "verified": false, "profile_background_color": "131516", "profile_image_url": "http://a1.twimg.com/profile_images/600114776/nessykalvo421_normal.jpg", "id": 100439873, "utc_offset": -28800, "favourites_count": 0 }, "in_reply_to_screen_name": null, "id": 16477056501, "contributors": null, "truncated": false } *This is the raw string (above it beautified) * {"in_reply_to_status_id":null,"text":"Home-plate umpire Crawford gets stung http://tinyurl.com/27ujc86","favorited":false,"coordinates":null,"in_reply_to_user_id":null,"source":"<a href=\"http://apiwiki.twitter.com/\" rel=\"nofollow\">API</a>","geo":null,"created_at":"Fri Jun 18 15:12:06 +0000 2010","place":null,"user":{"profile_text_color":"333333","screen_name":"HostingViral","time_zone":"Pacific Time (US & Canada)","url":"http://bit.ly/1Way7P","profile_link_color":"228235","profile_background_image_url":"http://s.twimg.com/a/1276654401/images/themes/theme14/bg.gif","description":"Full time Internet Marketer - Helping other reach their Goals\r\nhttp://wavemarker.com","statuses_count":1944,"profile_sidebar_fill_color":"c7b7c7","profile_background_tile":true,"contributors_enabled":false,"lang":"en","notifications":null,"created_at":"Wed Dec 30 07:50:52 +0000 2009","profile_sidebar_border_color":"120412","following":null,"geo_enabled":false,"followers_count":2485,"protected":false,"friends_count":2495,"location":"Working at Home","name":"Johnathan Thomas","verified":false,"profile_background_color":"131516","profile_image_url":"http://a1.twimg.com/profile_images/600114776/nessykalvo421_normal.jpg","id":100439873,"utc_offset":-28800,"favourites_count":0},"in_reply_to_screen_name":null,"id":16477056501,"contributors":null,"truncated":false} I've tried multiple JSON parsers from json.org though I've tried 4 now and can't find one which can parse above json. Kind regards, Pollux

    Read the article

< Previous Page | 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54  | Next Page >