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• IPSec tunnelling with ISA Server 2000...

  - by Izhido

  Believe it or not, our corporate network still uses ISA Server 2000 (in a Windows Server 2003 machine) to enable / control Internet access to / from it. I was asked recently to configure that ISA Server to create a site-to-site VPN for a new branch in a office about 25 km. away from it. The idea is basically to enable not only computers, but also Palm devices (WiFi-enabled, of course), to be able to see other computers in both sites. I was also told that a simple VPN-enabled wireless AP/router (in this case, a Cisco WRV210 unit) should be enough to establish communications with the main office. To be fair, the router looks easy to configure; it was confusing at first, but further understanding of how site-to-site VPNs work cleared all doubts about it. Now I need to make modifications to our ISA Server in order to recognize the newly installed & configured "remote" VPN site. Thing is, either my Googling skills are pathethically horrible, or there doesn't seem to be much (or any, at all) information about how to configure an ISA Server 2000 for this purpose. Lots of stuff on 2004, of course; also, I think I saw something for 2006. But nothing I could find about 2000. Reading about 2004, it seems that the only way I can do site-on-site with a Cisco router (read: a non-ISA-Server machine) is through something they call a "IPSec tunnel". Fair enough. However, I can't figure for the life of me how could I even start to find, leave alone configure, such a thing. Do you, people, happen to know how to do IPSec tunelling on a ISA Server 2000, so I can connect to a Cisco WRV210 VPN-enabled router, and build a site-to-site VPN for both networks? Or is this not possible at all? (Meaning I should change anything in this configuration to make it work...)

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• How can I get Windows 8 to automatically disable touch when I am using my Wacom pen and turn it back on when I am not

  - by Robert

  I have an HP convertible tablet computer which I just upgraded to Windows 8. The problem (which existed under Windows 7 as well) is that this tablet has both a capacitive touch screen (with multi-touch) AND a wacom-type tablet built in to the screen that works using electro-magnetic resonance with the provided stylus. My Use Case: Most of the time I am happy using my fingers and the touch interface for navigation and whatnot. However, when I want to get down to serious note-taking/drawing, I want to use the wacom functionality. The problem is that any comfortable writing position has me resting my arm/hand on the screen, which activates the touch technology (despite supposed palm-detection algorithms) and completely screws up my input paradigm. My Ideal Solution: Ideallly, since wacom technology senses when the pen is "close" to the screen, I would love to have touch be automatically disabled whenever the wacom pen is detected, and turned back on when it is out of range. this would allow me to seamless switch between the two input methods, and since I NEVER want to use both at once would work perfectly for me. An acceptable alternative: As a next best option, It would be great to be able to turn off the touch functionality (leaving the wacom in place) whenever I entered specific apps (e.g. OneNote, Photoshop, Gimp, Pencil, etc.) and then have it turn back on when I left that app.... As a worst case at least lets me use my PC option: If I could create a shortcut (tile or otherwise) that flips the touch on and off without going all the way through the nested computer settings, that would be better than nothing. Thanks in advance for the help with 1 or more of the above.

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• #MIX Day 2 Keynote: Put the Phone Down and Listen

  - by andrewbrust

  MIX day 1’s keynote was all about Windows Phone 7 (WP7).  MIX day 2’s was a reminder that Microsoft has much more going on than a new mobile platform.  Steven Sinofsky, Scott Guthrie, Doug Purdy and others showed us lots of other good things coming from Microsoft, mostly in the developer stack, that we certainly shouldn’t overlook.  These included the forthcoming IE9, its new JavaScript compiling engine and support for HTML 5 that takes full advantage of the local PC resources, including the Graphics Processing Unit.  The announcements also included important additions to ASP.NET (and one subtraction, in the form of lighter-weight ViewState technology) including almost-obsessive jQuery support.  That support is so good that John Resig, creator of the jQuery project, came on stage to tell us so.  Then Scott Guthrie told us that Microsoft would be contributing code to Open Source jQuery project. This is not your father’s Microsoft, it would seem. But to me, the crown jewel in today’s keynote were the numerous announcements around the Open Data Protocol (OData).  OData is nothing more than the protocol side of “Astoria” (now known as WCF Data Services, and until recently called ADO.NET Data Services) separated out and opened up as a platform-neutral standard.  The 2009 Professional Developers Conference (PDC) was Microsoft’s vehicle for first announcing OData, as well as project “Dallas,” an Azure-based cloud platform for publishing commercial OData feeds.  And we had already known about “bridges” for Astoria (and thus OData) for PHP and Java.  We also knew that PowerPivot, Microsoft’s forthcoming self-service BI plug-in for Excel 2010, will consume OData feeds and then facilitate drill-down analysis of their data.  And we recently found out that SQL Reporting Services reports (in the forthcoming SQL Server 2008 R2) and SharePoint 2010 lists will be consumable in OData format as well. So what was left to announce?  How about OData clients for Palm webOS and Apple iPhone/Objective C?  How about the release to Open Source of .NET’s OData client?  Or the ability to publish any SQL Azure database as an OData service by simply checking a checkbox at deployment?  Maybe even a Silverlight tool (code-named “Houston”) to create SQL Azure databases (and then publish them as OData) right in the browser?  And what if you you could get at NetFlix’s entire catalog in OData format?  You can – just go to http://odata.netflix.com/Catalog/ and see for yourself.  Douglas Purdy, who made these announcements said “we want OData to work on as many devices and platforms as possible.”  After all the cross-platform OData announcements made in about a half year’s time, it’s hard to dispute this. When Microsoft plays the data card, and plays it well, watch out, because data programmability is the company’s heritage.  I’ll be discussing OData at length in my April Redmond Review column.  I wrote that column two weeks ago, and was convinced then that OData was a big deal. Today upped the ante even more.  And following the Windows Phone 7 euphoria of yesterday was, I think, smart timing.  The phone, if it’s successful, will be because it’s a good developer platform play.  And developer platforms (as well as their creators) are most successful when they have a good data strategy.  OData is very Silverlight-friendly, and that means it’s WP7-friendly too.  Phone plus service-oriented data is a one-two punch.  A phone platform without data would have been a phone with no signal.

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• Tips to Make Your Website Cell Phone Friendly

  - by Aditi

  Working on a new website design? or Redesigning your website? There is a lot more to consider now a days not just user experience, clean code, CSS etc. one of the important attribute one must not miss, which is making them mobile friendly! With the growing use of handhelds & unlimited data plans, people browse on their cellphones! and All come in different sizes! it is tough to make a website that would look great not just on a high resolution widescreen monitor/LCD, but also should look equally impressive on the low resolutions of cellphones. We are today going to discuss about such factors that can help you make a website Cellphone Friendly. Fluid Width Layouts As we start discussing about this, Most people speak of the Fluid Width Layouts as vital step in moving your website to be mobile friendly. Fluid width allows the width of your website stretch or shrink depending on the browser size. However, having a layout which flows with the width of the screen’s resolution is certainly convenient, more often than not the website was originally laid out for a desktop in mind. Compressing a fluid layout to 320 pixels can do some serious damage to layout, Thus some people strongly believe it is far better to have a mobile style sheet and lay out the content specifically for that screen and have more control on the display. The best thing to do is to detect the type of platform that is connected to your website and disabling or changing some tools and effects to make it look better if not perfect. Keep Your Web Pages Short length One must avoid long pages on their website, a lot of scroll makes it very non user friendly for people, especially on mobile devices this is a huge draw back because of the longer load time it takes to download the webpage. Everyone likes crisp & concise content such pages are easier to load & browse. This makes your website accessible across all platforms. Also try to keep shorter urls, if they have to type..save them from that much work especially if someone is using a cellphone with no QWERTY keyboard it can be tough. Usable Navigation & Search Unlike Desktops, your website’s Navigation won’t super work on a cellphone. Keep in mind the user experience for cellphone users as you design your Navigation. Try to keep your content centered as they do have difficulty in reading the webpage. I always look upto Google and their pages as available on mobile as a great example. Keeping a functional & very visible search bar helps mobile users navigate by searching. Understanding Clean Website Code : Evolved for Mobile Clean code is important when you consider the diversity out there for handheld devices. Some cell phones may only understand WAP. More capable phones may understand WAP2, which allows rendering websites with XHTML and CSS. Most mobiles won’t display tables, floats, frames, JavaScript, and dynamic menus. Most cellphone will not support cookies. Devices at the high end of the mobile market such as BlackBerry, Palm, or the upcoming iPhone are highly capable and support nearly as much as a standard computer..but masses still do not have such phones. You can use specific emulators to test your website on mobile devices. Make sure your color combinations provide good contrast between foreground and background colors, particularly for devices with fewer color options.

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• Windows Phone 8, possible tablets and what the latest update might mean

  - by Roger Hart

  Microsoft have just announced an update to Windows Phone 8. As one of the five, maybe six people who actually bought a WP8 handset I found this interesting. Then I read the blog post about it, and rushed off to write somewhat less than a thousand words about a single picture. The blog post announces an extra column of tiles on the start screen, and support for higher resolutions. If we ignore all the usual flummery about how this will make your life better, that (and the rotation lock) sounds a little like stage setting for tablets. Looking at the preview screenshot, I started to wonder. What it’s called Phablet_5F00_StartScreenProductivity_5F00_01_5F00_072A1240.jpg Pretty conclusive. If you can brand something a “phablet” and sleep at night you’re made of sterner stuff than I am, but that’s beside the point. It’s explicit in the post that Microsoft are expecting a broader range of form factors for WP8, but they stop short of quite calling out tablet size. The extra columns and resolution definitely back that up, so why stop at a 6 inch “phablet”? Sadly, the string of numbers there don’t really look like a Lumia model number – that would be a bit tendentious even for a speculative blog post about a single screenshot. “Productivity” is interesting too. I get into this a bit more below, but this is a pretty clear pitch for a business device. What it looks like Something that would look quite decent on a 7 inch screen, but something a bit too vertical to go toe-to-toe with the Surface. Certainly, it would look a lot better on a large-factor phone than any of the current models. Those tiles are going to get cramped and a bit ugly if the handsets aren’t getting bigger. What’s on it You have a bunch of missed calls, you rarely text, use a stocks app, and your budget spreadsheet and meeting notes are a thumb-reach away. Outlook is your main form of email. You care enough about LinkedIn to not only install its app but give it a huge live tile. There’s no beating about the bush here, the implicit persona is a corporate exec. With Nokia in the bag and Blackberry pushing daisies, that may not be a stupid play. There’s almost certainly a niche there if they can parlay their corporate credentials into filling it before BYOD (which functionally means an iPhone) reaches the late adopters. The really quite slick WP8 Office implementation ought to help here. This is the face they’ve chosen to present, the cultural milieu they’re normalizing for Windows Phone. It’s an iPhone for Serious Business Grown-ups. Could work, I guess. Does it mean anything? Is the latest WP8 update a sign that we can expect to see tablets running Windows Phone rather than WinRT? Well, WinRT tablets haven’t exactly taken off but I’m not quite going to make a leap like that just from a file name and a column of icons. I feel pretty safe, however, conjecturing that Microsoft would like to squeeze a WP8 “phablet” into the palm of every exec who’s ever grumbled about their Blackberry, and this release might get them a bit closer. If it works well incrementing up to larger devices, then that could be a fair hedge against WinRt crashing and burning any harder in the marketplace.

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• Why is jQuery so widely adopted versus other Javascript frameworks?

  - by Andrew Moore

  I manage a group of programmers. I do value my employees opinion but lately we've been divided as to which framework to use on web projects. I personally favor MooTools, but some of my team seems to want to migrate to jQuery because it is more widely adopted. That by itself is not enough for me to allow a migration. I have used both jQuery and MooTools. This particular essay tends to reflect how I feel about both frameworks. jQuery is great for DOM Manipulation, but seem to be limited to helping you do that. Feature wise, both jQuery and MooTools allow for easy DOM Selection and Manipulation: // jQuery $('#someContainer div[class~=dialog]') .css('border', '2px solid red') .addClass('critical'); // MooTools $('#someContainer div[class~=dialog]') .setStyle('border', '2px solid red') .addClass('critical'); Both jQuery and MooTools allow for easy AJAX: // jQuery $('#someContainer div[class~=dialog]') .load('/DialogContent.html'); // MooTools (Using shorthand notation, you can also use Request.HTML) $('#someContainer div[class~=dialog]') .load('/DialogContent.html'); Both jQuery and MooTools allow for easy DOM Animation: // jQuery $('#someContainer div[class~=dialog]') .animate({opacity: 1}, 500); // MooTools (Using shorthand notation, you can also use Fx.Tween). $('#someContainer div[class~=dialog]') .set('tween', {duration: 500}) .tween('opacity', 1); jQuery offers the following extras: Large community of supporters Plugin Repository Integration with Microsoft's ASP.NET and VisualStudio Used by Microsoft, Google and others MooTools offers the following extras: Object Oriented Framework with Classic OOP emulation for JS Extended native objects Higher consistency between browsers for native functions support. More easy code reuse Used by The World Wide Web Consortium, Palm and others. Given that, it seems that MooTools does everything jQuery does and more (some things I cannot do in jQuery and I can in MooTools) but jQuery has a smaller learning curve. So the question is, why did you or your team choose jQuery over another JavaScript framework? Note: While I know and admit jQuery is a great framework, there are other options around and I'm trying to take a decision as to why jQuery should be our choice versus what we use right now (MooTools)?

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• DataGridView not displaying data in ToolStripDropDown

  - by jblaske

  I'm utilizing the code posted by Jesper Palm here: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/280891/make-user-control-display-outside-of-form-boundry /// <summary> /// A simple popup window that can host any System.Windows.Forms.Control /// </summary> public class PopupWindow : System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripDropDown { private System.Windows.Forms.Control _content; private System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripControlHost _host; public PopupWindow(System.Windows.Forms.Control content) { //Basic setup... this.AutoSize = false; this.DoubleBuffered = true; this.ResizeRedraw = true; this._content = content; this._host = new System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripControlHost(content); //Positioning and Sizing this.MinimumSize = content.MinimumSize; this.MaximumSize = content.Size; this.Size = content.Size; content.Location = Point.Empty; //Add the host to the list this.Items.Add(this._host); } } I've translated it to VB: Public Class PopupWindow Inherits System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripDropDown Private _content As System.Windows.Forms.Control Private _host As System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripControlHost Public Sub New(ByVal content As System.Windows.Forms.Control) Me.AutoSize = False Me.DoubleBuffered = True Me.ResizeRedraw = True Me._content = content Me._host = New System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripControlHost(content) Me.MinimumSize = content.MinimumSize Me.MaximumSize = content.MaximumSize Me.Size = content.Size content.Location = Point.Empty Me.Items.Add(Me._host) End Sub End Class It works great with a PictureBox showing its information. But for some reason I cannot get the DataGridView to display anything when it is in the popup. If I pull the grid out of the popup it displays all of its information fine. If I pause during debug, the grid shows that it has all the data in it. It's just not displaying anything. Does anybody have any ideas?

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• Is there a better way to create a generic convert string to enum method or enum extension?

  - by Kelsey

  I have the following methods in an enum helper class (I have simplified it for the purpose of the question): static class EnumHelper { public enum EnumType1 : int { Unknown = 0, Yes = 1, No = 2 } public enum EnumType2 : int { Unknown = 0, Dog = 1, Cat = 2, Bird = 3 } public enum EnumType3 : int { Unknown = 0, iPhone = 1, Andriod = 2, WindowsPhone7 = 3, Palm = 4 } public static EnumType1 ConvertToEnumType1(string value) { return (string.IsNullOrEmpty(value)) ? EnumType1.Unknown : (EnumType1)(Enum.Parse(typeof(EnumType1), value, true)); } public static EnumType2 ConvertToEnumType2(string value) { return (string.IsNullOrEmpty(value)) ? EnumType2.Unknown : (EnumType2)(Enum.Parse(typeof(EnumType2), value, true)); } public static EnumType3 ConvertToEnumType3(string value) { return (string.IsNullOrEmpty(value)) ? EnumType3.Unknown : (EnumType3)(Enum.Parse(typeof(EnumType3), value, true)); } } So the question here is, can I trim this down to an Enum extension method or maybe some type of single method that can handle any type. I have found some examples to do so with basic enums but the difference in my example is all the enums have the Unknown item that I need returned if the string is null or empty (if no match is found I want it to fail). Looking for something like the following maybe: EnumType1 value = EnumType1.Convert("Yes"); // or EnumType1 value = EnumHelper.Convert(EnumType1, "Yes"); One function to do it all... how to handle the Unknown element is the part that I am hung up on.

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• Android Web App : Position:fixed broken?

  - by StevenGilligan

  Hi all, I'm in the process of developping a Web Application for mobiles. I went with web applications because to me it seems a winning situation having to develop one application that could run also on iPhone / Windows Mobile / Palm etc. I started testing today after a few days of doing concepts, ideas and designs and what I wanted to do was have a menu that sticks at the bottom of the page. Exactly like the menu on the bottom in this iPhone application screenshot : http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3094/2656904921_1c54e93b4f.jpg Using CSS, I though it would be really easy to do this. Only using position:fixed; bottom:0; would have done the trick but I have found it doesn't behave the same on mobile browsers I tried to split my page in 2 sections : 1 would be a scrollable div (for the content) and the other one would be the bottom menu. Scrollable divs also do not work on Android. I also tried using frames with no luck either. Does anyone know of any way to re-create a menu that would stick to the bottom of a page for mobile phones? Thank you, Steven

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• Redirect Desktop Internal Pages to Correct Mobile Internal Pages with Htaccess

  - by Luis Alejandro Ramrez Gallardo

  I have built a Mobile site in a sub-domain. I have successfully implemented the redirect 302 from: www.domain.com to m.domain.com in htaccess. What I'm looking to achieve now it to redirect users from: www.domain.com/internal-page/ > 302 > m.domain.com/internal-page.html Notice that URL name for desktop and mobile is not the same. The code I'm using looks like this: # BEGIN WordPress <IfModule mod_rewrite.c> RewriteEngine On RewriteBase / RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L] RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d RewriteRule . /index.php [L] </IfModule> # END WordPress # Mobile Redirect # Verify Desktop Version Parameter RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} (^|&)ViewFullSite=true(&|$) # Set cookie and expiration RewriteRule ^ - [CO=mredir:0:www.domain.com:60] # Prevent looping RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^m.domain.com$ # Define Mobile agents RewriteCond %{HTTP_ACCEPT} "text\/vnd\.wap\.wml|application\/vnd\.wap\.xhtml\+xml" [NC,OR] RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} "sony|symbian|nokia|samsung|mobile|windows ce|epoc|opera" [NC,OR] RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} "mini|nitro|j2me|midp-|cldc-|netfront|mot|up\.browser|up\.link|audiovox"[NC,OR] RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} "blackberry|ericsson,|panasonic|philips|sanyo|sharp|sie-"[NC,OR] RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} "portalmmm|blazer|avantgo|danger|palm|series60|palmsource|pocketpc"[NC,OR] RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} "smartphone|rover|ipaq|au-mic,|alcatel|ericy|vodafone\/|wap1\.|wap2\.|iPhone|android"[NC] # Verify if not already in Mobile site RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^m\. # We need to read and write at the same time to set cookie RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} !(^|&)ViewFullSite=true(&|$) # Verify that we previously haven't set the cookie RewriteCond %{HTTP_COOKIE} !^.*mredir=0.*$ [NC] # Now redirect the users to the Mobile Homepage RewriteRule ^$ http://m.domain.com [R] RewriteRule $/internal-page/ http://m.domain.com/internal-page.html [R,L]

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• Method for launching audio player on Android from web page for streaming media

  - by Brad

  To link to SHOUTcast/HTTP internet radio streams, traditionally you would link to a playlist file, such as an M3U or PLS. From there, the browser would launch the audio player registered to handle the playlist. This works great on any PC, Palm, Blackberry, and iPhone. This method does not work in Android without installing extra software. Sure, Just Playlists or StreamFurious can handle it just fine, but I am assuming there has to be a way to invoke the audio or video player commonly installed by default on Android installations. By default, no audio player is capable of handling M3U or PLS. The player seems to open it, but says "Unsupported Media Type". To make this more annoying, the browser is capable of streaming MP3 audio over HTTP, simply by opening a link to an MP3 file. I have tried simply linking directly to the MP3 stream hosted by SHOUTcast, which should end up in the same result, but SHOUTcast detects "Mozilla" in the user-agent string, and instead of sending the stream, it sends the information page for the station. How should I link to a SHOUTcast stream on Android, from a normal mobile site, without using extra applications?

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• Creating Mobile Cross-Platform Scripting Solution

  - by Aplomb

  I am having the dream to design a Mobile cross-platform scripting solution to achieve Developer only need to code once by scripting language(it's possible be Javascript or others need further investigation), then the solution will be able to generate the installation files for multiple mobile platforms like J2me, Android, Symbian, BlackBerry, Palm, Windows Mobile/Phone, iPhone, etc. Using the scripting language, developer can code with unified platform API. And other extension frameworks under scripting language, like, 1. 2D UI framework Most probably using for Mobile Applications, the UI style will compete with native UI framework and no longer every application in particular platform looks similar. 2. 3D UI framework Provide the platforms who has 3D capability can represent their Mobile Application with more fashion 3D style which will be much more abstractive. 3. Variable game engine Developers can can use it for easily and high-quality build games. 4. etc This Mobile solution is providing three points, 1. Cross-Platform 2. Scripting 3. Middleware So guys, what do you think about this idea, is it good for Developers? is it profitable? where is the better direction for this idea?

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• What are possible/good ways to prototype iPhone applications?

  - by Ted Johnson

  This is intentionally left broad. If you wanted to show users what iPhone/mobile applications could to for them. The more interactive the better, but it must be quick to build as you can't code up every idea. Let us assume real-time games are out of scope. Throw out ideas or state which approach would be best. Here are some of my ideas, what are yours? Hack a app that loads mostly web or image content, but has hyperlinks to get around in. This would mean static data. Build screens which look great but can only be navigated in a story board type fashion. Load the web version or equivalent on the iPhone and say: now image the buttons and navigation is better. A paper based prototype. Flash or video walk through running on the phone. String existing iPhone apps and web pages together with minimal glue just to convey the idea. Can anyone share prototyping methods for other mobile devices? Ex: The palm prototype was just a block of wood and note pad that was carried around.

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• DataGridView not displaying data in ToolStripControlHost

  - by jblaske

  I'm utilizing the code posted by Jesper Palm here: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/280891/make-user-control-display-outside-of-form-boundry /// <summary> /// A simple popup window that can host any System.Windows.Forms.Control /// </summary> public class PopupWindow : System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripDropDown { private System.Windows.Forms.Control _content; private System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripControlHost _host; public PopupWindow(System.Windows.Forms.Control content) { //Basic setup... this.AutoSize = false; this.DoubleBuffered = true; this.ResizeRedraw = true; this._content = content; this._host = new System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripControlHost(content); //Positioning and Sizing this.MinimumSize = content.MinimumSize; this.MaximumSize = content.Size; this.Size = content.Size; content.Location = Point.Empty; //Add the host to the list this.Items.Add(this._host); } } I've translated it to VB: Public Class PopupWindow Inherits System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripDropDown Private _content As System.Windows.Forms.Control Private _host As System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripControlHost Public Sub New(ByVal content As System.Windows.Forms.Control) Me.AutoSize = False Me.DoubleBuffered = True Me.ResizeRedraw = True Me._content = content Me._host = New System.Windows.Forms.ToolStripControlHost(content) Me.MinimumSize = content.MinimumSize Me.MaximumSize = content.MaximumSize Me.Size = content.Size content.Location = Point.Empty Me.Items.Add(Me._host) End Sub End Class It works great with a PictureBox showing its information. But for some reason I cannot get the DataGridView to display anything when it is in the popup. If I pull the grid out of the popup it displays all of its information fine. If I pause during debug, the grid shows that it has all the data in it. It's just not displaying anything. Does anybody have any ideas?

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• Vacations on Rodrigues 2014

  And now something completely different compared to the usual technical or community related articles here on this blog. Yes, this time I'm writing some lines on my (and my family's) activities during our long weekend stay on Rodrigues. So, please bear with me, it's eventually a bit more personal... Grab a soda, some popcorn and a cosy place to continue to read. var googleAlbumLink = "https://plus.google.com/photos/117698191428446859536/albums/6047895311458281985"; //optional----------------------- var mySlideWidth = 580; var mySlideHeight = 340; var mySlideDelay = 7000; //delay in milliseconds Special promotions during school holidays Originally, our children started to ask more frequently about going on the plane again. Obviously, after their aunty from Germany was around during May, they were really eager to travel again. So, we decided that it might be a great opportunity to book some vacations during their school holidays. And just in time the local hotels and hotel groups started to advertise their special promotions for citizens and residents. After collecting multiple brochures over several days, we got attracted by various hotel packages on Rodrigues - most interestingly the expenses for the stay and flight ticket were less compared to other resorts here on the main island. As we have been to Rodrigues already back in 2008, we followed up on this idea and got in touch with a couple travel agencies. Well, I have to report that you should be really careful about the promotions from some of them. We had a very negative experience with Shamal Travel Agency in Quatre Bornes regarding their adverts and the actual price levels and age definition for children. Please, stay away from them if you are interested in transparent cost and services. Anyway, after some arrangements with two other close families we managed to confirm our stay at the Cotton Bay Hotel in Rodrigues. Given the fact that we already stayed there, and the hotel has been renovated recently, and it is under new management all looked very promising and relaxed for our vacation. Counting the days... As we already booked in July our children were counting down the days. And it got more interesting as soon as they were on school holidays finally. Well, the day arrived and waking them up at 2:30 hrs wasn't a problem after all. Quite the opposite it was fascinating for us parents to watch them waiting for the transport and later on during the airport transfer. Despite the early hours both didn't fall asleep and it was all so exciting. We are taking the plane! Well organised by the Cotton Bay Hotel Honestly, it was a breeze and a smooth ride during our stay at the hotel. From the airport transfer, the cleanliness of our bungalow, the organisation of our day trips, and the SPA - all very well and enjoyable. The children had great fun, and although it was a bit too windy to plunge into the pool they had a lot of fun with other activities on the beach and at the Kid's Club. Oh, and we had our private petting zoo with cows, sheep and goats just close to the terrace. Some of us went to check out the SPA facilities and I have to admit that the services regarding Hammam and Sauna are better than at some other hotels in Mauritius. I don't know after how many months or years I was once again enjoying a very hot sauna. Little draw-back but nothing to worry about... There is no cold water or at least ice cubes to cool down the body, but hey there was a nice breeze coming over the hills. Some day trips to mention Based on a friend's recommendation we walked to a "restaurant" called Chez Solange & Robert. Hahaha, restaurant is widely stretched in this case, as we enjoyed a great BBQ with fresh lobster, whole fish, and pieces of chicken breast in an open cottage. Just some wooden structure covered with dried palm leaves on the roof - island feeling pure! The other day we went to the Giant Tortoise & Cave Reserve Francois Leguat to observe the giant Aldabra turtles and to visit the Grande Caverne. The biggest limestone cave on the island. Compared to our last visit this was a novelty after checking out the Caverne Partate. The formations of stalactites and stalagmites are very impressive and imaginative. Our guide had lots of funny terms and despite the low light conditions the kids had a great time wandering around on the narrow wooden paths and stairs. And last but not least, we decided to check out the Tyrodrig zip lines... Everyone was allowed to join the trip through the air, and our little ones stayed close to our field guides. But finally went on their own on the very last traversal. Puuuh, it was astounishing to glide over the valley, and for sure something to repeat next time. Impressions of our vacation on Rodrigues 2014   Next stay has been discussed already Oh yes, Rodrigues baby! We are going to come again! Tentative dates have been discussed already and now it's up to us to earn enough our next holiday on that wonderful remote piece of paradise. Eventually, a little bit longer than this time. We'll see...

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• In the Mobile and Tablet World, How Much is Too Much?

  - by andrewbrust

  The week of April 26th was a huge one in the world of mobile and tablet devices,  There were so many individual developments, announcements and solidifications of strategy, it’s almost impossible to believe they occurred in the same month, let alone the same week. Things started with Apple and Gizmodo having a Law and Order moment over the latter’s procurement of what appears to be the former’s 4th gen iPhone prototype.  We found out on the 26th that Gizmodo blogger Jason Chen’s apartment was raided by police and, honestly, that was a bit much. But Apple didn’t stop there.  They also published Steve Job’s critique of Adobe Flash and his explanation of Cupertino’s embargo of Flash on iPhones, iPods and iPads.  If you ask me, this too, was a bit much. Apple finished up the week by releasing the 3G version of its iPad product to the US market. I like (iLike?) my WiFi iPad.  The idea of getting a version of it that required a second 3G service monthly subscription, is, well, a bit  much. Microsoft was in the news too.  It killed a project it hadn’t even acknowledged the existence of: the Courier tablet.  That’s a bit much too.  If a tree falls in the woods, and Microsoft says they can’t hear it anyway, could they really have chopped it down? Maybe Microsoft Research should have licensed some of Courier’s technology from other parts of Microsoft.  Then maybe they could have kept the product alive.  Ask HTC: they’re going to be licensing technology from Microsoft because Redmond insists that Google’s Android operating system infringes on certain of their patents.  And since HTC now builds a number of handsets on Android, instead of being beholden, as they once were, to Windows Mobile, that means they can keep making their products.  Why does HTC have to pay the royalties, and not Google?  Maybe Microsoft decided that going after GOOG would have been a bit much, even for them. The agreement came not a moment to soon: HTC released their “Droid Incredible” (that name’s a bit much), an Android 2.1 handset with amazing hardware and HTC’s own Sense UI, on April 30th (this past Friday). This phone is very well-reviewed.  Maybe that’s why Google basically decided to beg off introducing a version of its Nexus One phone (also manufactured by HTC) on the Verizon Wireless network.  Google backing down?  That’s incredible, if not also a bit much. And that brings us to HP.  Which this week announced its acquisition of Palm and its webOS mobile phone touch-oriented operating system.  HP also killed its own Slate initiative.  Apparently HP realized that Windows 7, even with a proprietary HP touch UI added on top, is no match for the iPad.  I’m guessing they think webOS might work a bit better,  And I’m wondering if HP even wants to use webOS for phone handsets, beyond the Pre and Pixi.  Using it just for slate devices would be a bit extreme, but maybe not too much. Honestly, this was not Microsoft’s best week.  It killed a project and a close partner did likewise.  Then that same partner bought a competing OS product, while another partner released their new product that uses yet another competing OS platform. What did Microsoft actually produce this past week? An update to its Windows Phone 7 developer tools that actually works with the version of Visual Studio 2010 released on April 12th, and the version of Silverlight released three days later. That took three weeks to get synced up, and that’s a bit much too. But at least it happened. Windows Phone 7 is Microsoft’s best hope for a comeback in the SmartPhone market and to offer a credible touch-based tablet device.  This week, two of Microsoft’s slate initiatives died, and its only mobile phone victory was around its competitor’s operating system.  I hope the new platform gets Redmond out of the PC ghetto and into the classes of device that get people really excited today.  If it can’t, that would be a bit much; probably too much.  And, as the signs at the Lonestar Cafe in NYC used to say, too much ain’t enough.

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• Phones, Nokia, Microsoft and More

  - by Bill Evjen

  The phone revolution that is under way at the moment is insanely interesting and continuously full of buzz about directions, failures, and promises. The movement started with Apple completely reinventing what a smart phone was all about and now we have the followers. Though – don’t dismiss the followers, they are usually the ones that come out with the leap frog products when most of the world is thinking about jumping on. Remember the often used analogy – the USA invented the TV – but it was Japan that took it to the next level and now all TVs are from somewhere else other than the USA. Really there are two camps for the phones – the Cool Kids and other kids that no one wants to hang out with anymore. When it comes to cool – for some reason, the phone is an important part of that factor. Everyone wants to show their phone and its configuration (apps installed, etc) to their friends as a sign of (1) “I have money” and (2) I have smarts/tastes/style/etc when it comes to my applications that are on my phone. For those that don’t know – the Cool Kids include: Apple – this is quite obvious as everything Apple produces is in the cool camp. Just having an Apple product on your person means you can dance. Google – this is one of the more interesting releases as they have created something called Android (which in it’s own right is a major brand in itself). Microsoft – you might be saying “Really, Microsoft is cool?”. I would argue that they are indeed cool as it is now associated with XBOX 360, Kinect, and Windows 7. Gone are the days of Bob and that silly paperclip. Well – that’s it. There is nobody else I would stick in that camp. The other kids that weren’t picked for that dodgeball team include: Nokia Motorola Palm Blackberry and many many more The sad part of all this is that no matter what this second camp does now, it won’t be able to get out of this bucket easily. They will always be associated as yesterday’s technology and that association will drive the sales of the phone purchasers of the world. For those in that group, the only possible way out is to get invited to the cool club by one of the cool club members in the hope that their coolness somehow rubs off. To me, this is the move that Nokia is making. They are at this point where they have realized that they don’t have the full scope of the required end to end solution to make this all work. They have the plants to build the phones and the reach of the retailers that sell what they have. What they are missing is the proper operating system for the new world of multi-touch form factor phones. Even the companies that come up with some sort of new operating system for this type of new device, they are still associated with the yesterday and lack the developer community behind them to be the real wave of adoption that this market needs. Think about that – this is a major different between Nokia/Blackberry when you compare it to the likes of Apple, Google, and Microsoft. These three powerhouses having a very large and strong development community that will eagerly take on new initiatives using the skillsets that they have already cultivated over the years of already working with the company. This then results in a plethora of applications that are then placed on an app store of some kind. The developer gets a cut and then Apple/Google/Microsoft then get their cut. It is definitely a win-win. None of the other phone companies and wannabies can provide the same results. What Microsoft was missing was the major phone manufactures coming on board to create and push forward with the phones that are required to start the wave. This is where Nokia can come in and help Microsoft. They have the ability to promote the Windows Phone operating system on a new wave of phones. This does mean that Nokia will sell phones, but they lose out on the application store that they might have been thinking about making some money on as well as controlling the end to end solution. What is interesting is in questioning to oneself if Microsoft will purchase Nokia. It really depends upon how they want to compete and with whom Microsoft views as the major competitor. For instance, they can purchase Nokia and have their own hardware company and distribution network for phones – thereby taking on a model that is quite similar to Apple. On the other hand, they could just leave it up to the phone hardware companies such as Nokia and others to build and promote phones in a model that is similar to Google. Both ways have pluses and minuses. If they own the phone manufacturer, they really can put some thought into the design and technical specifications of the phone that is really designed to exactly how they want it. Microsoft has shown that they have this ability – especially with the XBOX initiative they have done over the years. Think about how good and powerful they have moved forward with XBOX – and I am not talking about just copying what others are doing, but coming up with leapfrog products that are steps ahead of everyone else. Though, if they didn’t do it themselves, they could then leave it up to the phone manufacturers to drive each other to build better and better phones that run the Microsoft OS – competition drives better products. We have seen this with the Android line of phones that are out there on the market. I have read a lot about Nokia investors really upset about the new Microsoft relationship – but really, this is a great thing. I for one am a fan of this relationship (I am also a Nokia stock holder btw). This will mean better days for Nokia.

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• Team Foundation Server Setup/Access

  - by Angel Brighteyes

  What I need: A TFS 2010 Setup that allows 2 application developers to access the TFS from remote locations. How it is setup: Server 2008 Standard 2g Ram 300g HD space SharePoint Server 2007, using SQL Server 2005 SQL Server 2008 Standard Team Foundation Server 2010 IIS 7 Sharepoint Bindings: TFS.DynAccount.Me:80; TFS:80 TFS Bindings: TFS.DynAccount.Me:8080; TFS:8080 Using DynDNS service to account for the dynamic ip address being used, this is a requirement for the moment until I can get a better isp package. Access using Local Accounts Server is not setup on a domain, or as a domain. Consequently I did not setup AD services. Problem: When logged into TFS using my credentials TFS\AdminUser through the DynDNS account TFS.DynAccount.Me I recieve the 'Red X of Death' on the Documents and Reports folder. When logged into the TFS through the local peer to peer network using the same credentials TFS\AdminUser I do not receive the 'Red X of Death' problem. Further Troubleshooting: When users 'Right Click' the 'TeamProject1' Click 'Show Project Portal' it tries to take them to http://TFS:8080 instead of http://TFS.DynAccount.Me:8080, which doing further research I am assuming that it is because team foundation server was setup with a local name of TFS instead of 'TFS.DynAccount.Me' as specified here in Visual Studio Magazines: The Red X of Death. Users can Access the Team Portal for SharePoint via http://TFS.DynAccount.Me/TeamCollection/TeamProject so it is not like we are dead in the water or anything. However, as most employees/staff are prone to do, they have expressed a great distaste for having to do it this way and just be patient until the current project is finished since we are under a very strict deadline. Is there a way to set this up differently, or change some settings someplace, reinstall it, point a CName record for our domain website to the DynAccount (e.g. TFS.OurDomain.com points to TFS.DynAccount.Me, which consequently does allow access to the http site without issues), or something. I really don't feel like after all the time and effort I have spent into, first the cost, second the bloody install, third learning SharePoint well enough, fourth the hours into days spent on this, fifth more troubleshooting, sixth employee headaches to just let it lay where it is at. I figure in my spare/off time I would keep trying to get this to work. So I really appreciate any help any one can give me. I know this is probably something really stupid simple that I will 'Face Palm' over, but at the moment the stress and frustration just has me beat. Thank you again, this community has always been a great help.

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• imagick showing script url instead of image

  - by Raz

  Hi, currently i'm trying to use imagick to generate some images without saving them on the server and then outputting to the browser, my method of choice was image magic with the imagick extension for php. I read the documentation, and i'm sure the package is installed on my machine (windows xp, with xampp). the class is installed imagick module enabled imagick module version 2.0.0-alpha imagick classes Imagick, ImagickDraw, ImagickPixel, ImagickPixelIterator ImageMagick version ImageMagick 6.3.3 04/21/07 Q16 http://www.imagemagick.org ImageMagick release date 04/21/07 ImageMagick Number of supported formats: 164 ImageMagick Supported formats A, ART, AVI, AVS, B, BIE, BMP, BMP2, BMP3, C, CACHE, CAPTION, CIN, CIP, CLIP, CLIPBOARD, CMYK, CMYKA, CUR, CUT, DCM, DCX, DFONT, DPS, DPX, EMF, EPDF, EPI, EPS, EPS2, EPS3, EPSF, EPSI, EPT, EPT2, EPT3, FAX, FITS, FRACTAL, FTS, G, G3, GIF, GIF87, GRADIENT, GRAY, HISTOGRAM, HTM, HTML, ICB, ICO, ICON, INFO, JBG, JBIG, JNG, JP2, JPC, JPEG, JPG, JPX, K, LABEL, M, M2V, MAP, MAT, MATTE, MIFF, MNG, MONO, MPC, MPEG, MPG, MSL, MSVG, MTV, MVG, NULL, O, OTB, OTF, PAL, PALM, PAM, PATTERN, PBM, PCD, PCDS, PCL, PCT, PCX, PDB, PDF, PFA, PFB, PGM, PGX, PICON, PICT, PIX, PJPEG, PLASMA, PNG, PNG24, PNG32, PNG8, PNM, PPM, PREVIEW, PS, PS2, PS3, PSD, PTIF, PWP, R, RAS, RGB, RGBA, RGBO, RLA, RLE, SCR, SCT, SFW, SGI, SHTML, STEGANO, SUN, SVG, SVGZ, TEXT, TGA, THUMBNAIL, TIFF, TILE, TIM, TTC, TTF, TXT, UIL, UYVY, VDA, VICAR, VID, VIFF, VST, WBMP, WMF, WMFWIN32, WMZ, WPG, X, XBM, XC, XCF, XPM, XV, XWD, Y, YCbCr, YCbCrA, YUV this is from the phpinfo so i know i have it installed, the thing is when i try to generate an image and save it, it works flawlessly, but when i try to output the image directly, i get the script url as an image $draw = new ImagickDraw(); $draw->setFont('AnkeCalligraph.TTF'); $draw->setFontSize(52); $draw->annotation(110, 110, "Hello World!"); $draw->annotation(50, 220, "Hello World!"); $canvas = new Imagick('./pictures/test_live.PNG'); $canvas->drawImage($draw); $canvas->setImageFormat('png'); header("Content-Type: image/png"); echo $canvas; this is the code used. if i use writeimage, then the file on the server is created with no problems. does anyone have any ideas what i'm doing wrong ?

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• Which mobile operating system should I code for?

  - by samgoody

  It seems as though mobile computing has fully arrived. I would like to rewrite two of our programs for mobile devices, but am a bit lost as to which platform to target. Complicating this decision: I would need to learn the relevant languages and IDEs - my coding to date has been almost all web based (PHP, JS, Actionscript, etc. Some ASPX). Most users seem to be religious about their mobile decision, so oral conversations leave me more confused then enlightened. I do not yet own a smartphone - will have to buy one once I know which platform to be aiming for. Both of my programs are more for business users, (one is only useful for C.P.A.s). I am a single developer, and cannot develop for more than one platform at a time. Getting it right is important. Based on what I've found on the web, I would've expected RIM to be a shoo-in, and the general order to be as follows: RIM Blackberry - More of them than any other brand. Despite naysayers, they've had double the sales (or perhaps 5X the sales) of any other smartphone, and have continued to grow. And, they have business users. Android - According to Schmidt, they have outsold everyone else except RIM (though I can't find where I read that now), and they are just getting started. According to Comscore, they are already at 8% of the market and expected to hit Shcmidt's claims within six months. Nokia - The largest worldwide. If they would just make up between Maemo or Symbian, I would be far less confused. iPhone - Much more competition by other apps, fewer sales to be had, and a overlord that can delay or cancel my app at any time. Is Cocoa hard to learn? Windows Mobile - Word is that version 7 will not be backwards compatible and losing market share. Palm WebOS - Perhaps this should go first, as it is the only one that offers tools to make my life easy as a web application developer. No competition in marketplace. But not very many users either. However, a search on StackOverflow shows a hugely disproportionate number of iPhone questions versus Blackberry. Likewise, there are clearly more apps on iPhone, so it must be getting developer love. What is the one platform I should develop for? Please back up your answer with the logic.

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• A Look Back at 2010 Predictions

  - by David Dorf

  Now is the time of year people make their predictions for next year, but before I start thinking about 2011 it's worth a look back to see how my predictions for 2010 fared. 1. Borders and Blockbuster bite the dust. I would have never predicted a strong brand such as Circuit City could die, but now I know it can happen to anyone. Borders has lost the battle with Barnes & Noble and Blockbuster has lost to Netflix. And just to be sure, Amazon put an extra nail in each coffin. Borders received additional investment from Bennett LeBow to keep it afloat, but the stock is down around $1.25 with no profits in sight. Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy back in September. 2. Every retailer finally has a page on Facebook... but very few figure out how to keep fans engaged. Retailer postings become noise, and fans start to unsubscribe. Twitter goes in the same direction. A few standout retailers will figure out how to use social media, and the rest will remain dumbfounded. Most retailers are on the Facebook bandwagon, and their fan bases seem to be increasing thanks to promotions like The Gap's logo redesign, Lowes' black Friday sneak peak, and Walmart's Crowd Savers. There are several examples of f-commerce advancements, including some interesting integrations from Amazon.3. Smartphones consolidate and grow. More and more people will step-up to smartphones, most of which will choose iPhone, Blackberry, and Android phones. Other smartphones will vanish, and networks will start to strain. But retailers will finally embrace mobile as the next big channel. Retail marketing departments will build mobile apps without the help of their IT department, and eventually they will get into a bind. Android has been on a tear lately stealing market share from Blackberry. Palm and Microsoft are trending down, and Apple is holding steady. Smartphone sales are up 15% and expected to continue. Retailers understand the importance of mobile, and some innovative applications have been produced this year. 4. Google helps the little guys. Google will push its Favorite Places project to help give exposure to small retailers and restaurants. They will enable small retailers to act like big ones by providing storefronts, detailed product information, and coupons for consumers. Google will find a way to bring augmented reality to the masses. I can't say I've seen much new from Google regarding Favorite Places, but they've continued to push local product search. From the PC or smartphone, consumers can search for products and see which nearby stores have it stock. Oracle Retail even productized an integration to Google to support this effort. I suppose if Google ever buys Groupon then it will bring them even closer to local shopping. Google talked about augmented humanity, but that has nothing to do with augmented reality. 5. Steve Jobs Is Bugs Bunny and Steve Ballmer is Elmer Fudd. (OK, I stole that headline from an InformationWeek article. I couldn't resist.) Both Apple and Microsoft will continue to open new stores, but only Apple will show real growth. POSReady 2009 (formerly WEPOS) will continue to share the POS market with Linux. The iPhone and iPod will continue to capture market share, but there won't be an Apple tablet. There won't be an Apple tablet? What was I thinking? While Apple has well over 300 stores, there are less than 10 Microsoft stores. Initial impressions show that even though Microsoft is locating its store near Apple Stores, they are not converting customers, with shoppers citing a lack of assortment and high prices. 6. Consolidation of e-commerce software providers. Software vendors in the areas of search, reviews, online call-centers, payments, and e-commerce will consolidate, partly driven by the success of m-commerce and SaaS. Amazon will find someone else to buy, and eBay will continue to lose momentum. Consolidation of e-commerce providers continued with IBM acquiring Sterling Commerce and CoreMetrics, and Oracle recently announcing the acquisition of ATG. Amazon grabbed Zappos, Woot, and Diapers.com to continue its dominance of online selling. While eBay's Marketplace growth may have slowed, its PayPal division is doing quite well, fueled in part by demand for mobile payments. 7. Book publishers mirror music labels. Just as the iPod brought digital downloads to the masses, the Kindle and Nook will power the e-book revolution. Books will continue to use DRM for a few more years before following the path of music. Publishers will try to preserve the margins of hardbacks by associating e-book releases with paperbacks. Amazon has done a good job providing e-reader clients for smartphones, PCs, and tablets. Competition from Barnes & Noble has forced Amazon to support book loaning, and both companies are making it easier for people to publish ebooks (with or without DRM). Progress is slow but steady. 8. NFC makes inroads, RFID treads water. Near Field Communications start to appear in mobile phones, and retailers beta test its use for payments and loyalty programs. RFID tag costs come down a bit, but not enough to spur accelerated adoption.Nokia announced plans to offer NFC-enabled phones in 2011, and rumors are swirling about NFC in the upcoming iPhone.  I think NFC is heading in the right direction, and I've heard more interest from retailers about specialized uses for RFID.9. Digital Signage goes the way of augmented reality. People use their camera phones to leave geo-tagged notes all over cities, rating stores and restaurants, and "painting" graffiti. But people get tired of holding their phones in front of their faces, so AR glasses are offered in much the same way bluetooth headsets emerged. Retailers experiement with in-store advertising using AR. Several retailers like Pizza Hut, Benetton, and Target have experimented with AR but its still somewhat of a gimmick used by marketing.  I think this prediction is a year or two too early. 10. JDA flip-flops again. After announcing their embracing of the .Net architecture, then switching to J2EE after the Manugistics acquisition, JDA will finally decide to standardize on Apple's Objective C. Everything will be ported to the iPhone and be available on the AppStore. After all, there's not much left to try. This was, of course, a joke but the sentiment is still valid.  JDA seems more supply-chain focused than retail focused, which is a an outcrop if their i2 acquisition.  Of the 10 predictions, I'm going to say I got 6 somewhat correct.  (Don't you just love grading your own paper?)  Soon I'll post my predictions for 2011 so be on the lookout.  Until then here's one more prediction:  Va Tech beats Stanford in the Orange Bowl -- count on it!

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• Mobile BI Comes of Age

  - by rich.clayton(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-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} 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-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* 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-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} One of the hot topics in the Business Intelligence industry is mobility.  More specifically the question is how business can be transformed by the iPhone and the iPad.  In June 2003, Gartner predicted that Mobile BI would be obsolete and that the technology was headed for the 'trough of disillusionment'.  I agreed with them at that time.  Many vendors like MicroStrategy and Business Objects jumped into the fray attempting to show how PDA's like Palm Pilots could be integrated with BI.  Their investments resulted in interesting demos with no commercial traction.  Why, because wireless networks and mobile operating systems were primitive, immature and slow. In my opinion, Apple's iOS has changed everything in Mobile BI.  Yes Blackberry, Android and Symbian and all the rest have their place in the market but I believe that increasingly consumers (not IT departments) influence BI decision making processes.  Consumers are choosing the iPhone and the iPad. The number of iPads I see in business meetings now is staggering.  Some use it for email and note taking and others are starting to use corporate applications.  The possibilities for Mobile BI are countless and I would expect to see iPads enterprise-wide over the next few years.   These new devices will provide just-in-time access to critical business information.  Front-line managers interacting with customers, suppliers, patients or citizens will have information literally at their fingertips. I've experimented with several mobile BI tools.  They look cool but like their Executive Information System (EIS) predecessors of the 1990's these tools lack a backbone and a plausible integration strategy.  EIS was a viral technology in the early 1990's.  Executives from every industry and job function were showcasing their dashboards to fellow co-workers and colleagues at the country club.  Just like the iPad, every senior manager wanted one.  EIS wasn't a device however, it was a software application.   EIS quickly faded into the software sunset as it lacked integration with corporate information systems.  BI servers  replaced EIS because the technology focused on the heavy data lifting of integrating, normalizing, aggregating and managing large, complex data volumes.  The devices are here to stay. The cute stand-alone mobile BI tools, not so much. If all you're looking to do is put Excel files on your iPad, there are plenty of free tools on the market.  You'll look cool at your next management meeting but after a few weeks, the cool factor will fade away and you'll be wondering how you will ever maintain it.  If however you want secure, consistent, reliable information on your iPad, you need an integration strategy and a way to model the data.  BI Server technologies like the Oracle BI Foundation is a market leading approach to tackle that issue. I liken the BI mobility frenzy to buying classic cars.  Classic Cars have two buying groups - teenagers and middle-age folks looking to tinker.  Teenagers look at the pin-stripes and the paint job while middle-agers (like me)  kick the tires a bit and look under the hood to check out the quality and reliability of the engine.  Mobile BI tools sure look sexy but don't go very far without an engine and a transmission or an integration strategy. The strategic question in Mobile BI is can these startups build a motor and transmission faster than Oracle can re-paint the car?  Oracle has a great engine and a transmission that connects to all enterprise information assets.  We're working on the new paint job and are excited about the possibilities.  Just as vertical integration worked in the automotive business, it too works in the technology industry.

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• Conducting Effective Web Meetings

  - by BuckWoody

  There are several forms of corporate communication. From immediate, rich communications like phones and IM messaging to historical transactions like e-mail, there are a lot of ways to get information to one or more people. From time to time, it's even useful to have a meeting. (This is where a witty picture of a guy sleeping in a meeting goes. I won't bother actually putting one here; you're already envisioning it in your mind) Most meetings are pointless, and a complete waste of time. This is the fault, completely and solely, of the organizer. It's because he or she hasn't thought things through enough to think about alternate forms of information passing. Here's the criteria for a good meeting - whether in-person or over the web: 100% of the content of a meeting should require the participation of 100% of the attendees for 100% of the time It doesn't get any simpler than that. If it doesn't meet that criteria, then don't invite that person to that meeting. If you're just conveying information and no one has the need for immediate interaction with that information (like telling you something that modifies the message), then send an e-mail. If you're a manager, and you need to get status from lots of people, pick up the phone.If you need a quick answer, use IM. I once had a high-level manager that called frequent meetings. His real need was status updates on various processes, so 50 of us would sit in a room while he asked each one of us questions. He believed this larger meeting helped us "cross pollinate ideas". In fact, it was a complete waste of time for most everyone, except in the one or two moments that they interacted with him. So I wrote some code for a Palm Pilot (which was a kind of SmartPhone but with no phone and no real graphics, but this was in the days when we had just discovered fire and the wheel, although the order of those things is still in debate) that took an average of the salaries of the people in the room (I guessed at it) and ran a timer which multiplied the number of people against the salaries. I left that running in plain sight for him, and when he asked about it, I explained how much the meetings were really costing the company. We had far fewer meetings after. Meetings are now web-enabled. I believe that's largely a good thing, since it saves on travel time and allows more people to participate, but I think the rule above still holds. And in fact, there are some other rules that you should follow to have a great meeting - and fewer of them. Be Clear About the Goal This is important in any meeting, but all of us have probably gotten an invite with a web link and an ambiguous title. Then you get to the meeting, and it's a 500-level deep-dive on something everyone expects you to know. This is unfair to the "expert" and to the participants. I always tell people that invite me to a meeting that I will be as detailed as I can - but the more detail they can tell me about the questions, the more detailed I can be in my responses. Granted, there are times when you don't know what you don't know, but the more you can say about the topic the better. There's another point here - and it's that you should have a clearly defined "win" for the meeting. When the meeting is over, and everyone goes back to work, what were you expecting them to do with the information? Have that clearly defined in your head, and in the meeting invite. Understand the Technology There are several web-meeting clients out there. I use them all, since I meet with clients all over the world. They all work differently - so I take a few moments and read up on the different clients and find out how I can use the tools properly. I do this with the technology I use for everything else, and it's important to understand it if the meeting is to be a success. If you're running the meeting, know the tools. I don't care if you like the tools or not, learn them anyway. Don't waste everyone else's time just because you're too bitter/snarky/lazy to spend a few minutes reading. Check your phone or mic. Check your video size. Install (and learn to use)  ZoomIT (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897434.aspx). Format your slides or screen or output correctly. Learn to use the voting features of the meeting software, and especially it's whiteboard features. Figure out how multiple monitors work. Try a quick meeting with someone to test all this. Do this *before* you invite lots of other people to your meeting.   Use a WebCam I'm not a pretty man. I have a face fit for radio. But after attending a meeting with clients where one Microsoft person used a webcam and another did not, I'm convinced that people pay more attention when a face is involved. There are tons of studies around this, or you can take my word for it, but toss a shirt on over those pajamas and turn the webcam on. Set Up Early Whether you're attending or leading the meeting, don't wait to sign on to the meeting at the time when it starts. I can almost plan that a 10:00 meeting will actually start at 10:10 because the participants/leader is just now installing the web client for the meeting at 10:00. Sign on early, go on mute, and then wait for everyone to arrive. Mute When Not Talking No one wants to hear your screaming offspring / yappy dog / other cubicle conversations / car wind noise (are you driving in a desert storm or something?) while the person leading the meeting is trying to talk. I use the Lync software from Microsoft for my meetings, and I mute everyone by default, and then tell them to un-mute to talk to the group. Share Collateral If you have a PowerPoint deck, mail it out in case you have a tech failure. If you have a document, share it as an attachment to the meeting. Don't make people ask you for the information - that's why you're there to begin with. Even better, send it out early. "But", you say, "then no one will come to the meeting if they have the deck first!" Uhm, then don't have a meeting. Send out the deck and a quick e-mail and let everyone get on with their productive day. Set Actions At the Meeting A meeting should have some sort of outcome (see point one). That means there are actions to take, a follow up, or some deliverable. Otherwise, it's an e-mail. At the meeting, decide who will do what, when things are needed, and so on. And avoid, if at all possible, setting up another meeting, unless absolutely necessary. So there you have it. Whether it's on-premises or on the web, meetings are a necessary evil, and should be treated that way. Like politicians, you should have as few of them as are necessary to keep the roads paved and public libraries open.

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