Sony demoes flexible electronic paper display, tickles our fancy
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Thursday, September 16, 2010
Say, did the air just get a little richer in vapor? Sony has titillated its home nation with a demonstration of a new flexible e-paper display, which looks set to compete with LG's, HP's, Toshiba's, and hell even Sony's own, flexi-display ventures. Employing a plastic substrate, the above prototype is apparently capable of being rolled up like a regular old newspaper -- presumably fly-swatting is not a problem either -- but we have our usual reservations about yet another flexible display teaser. Oh, they're all gorgeous and revolutionary, it's just that we're not seeing too many of them in our local Walmarts, you know? Read more: Engadget
One wide index or multiple narrow indexes?
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Or “If one index is good, surely many indexes (indexes? indices? indi?) will be better”This is a question that comes up very often on the forums. Something along the lines of:I have a query with multiple where clause conditions on a table. Should I create one index for each condition, or one index with all the columns in it? The question basically boils down to this: Which is more optimal and more likely for the optimiser to pick, a single seek operation against a wide index that seeks on all three conditions in one go, or three seek operations against three indexes followed by a join to get back the final set of rows. One thing to keep in mind is that one of the jobs of an index is to reduce the number of rows in consideration for a query as early as possible in the query’s execution.So let’s take a made-up example. Let’s say we have a table with a number of columns in it. A query is run against that table with three conditions in the where clause WHERE ColA = @A AND ColB = @B AND ColC = @CRead more: SQL in the Wild
5 Best Large File Transfer Sites
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What happens if you need to send someone a large file, such as a zipped up folder of images or a home movie? Most email providers limit the size of files you can attach and not everyone has access to a private server with FTP.
In cases such as these, a large file transfer service can pull you out of a hole. Here are five ways to share large files easily and quickly.Dropbox
You Send It
Send 6
(more...)Read more: admixweb
In cases such as these, a large file transfer service can pull you out of a hole. Here are five ways to share large files easily and quickly.Dropbox
You Send It
Send 6
(more...)Read more: admixweb
USING APPDOMAINS TO MAKE NON-THREADSAFE CODE THREADSAFE
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Recently, I was involved in a Wintellect consulting engagement where a customer had some class library code that was created years ago. The code in this class library was not designed to work well in a multithreaded environment. Specifically, this means that if two or more threads called into the class library code at the same time, the data got corrupted and the results could not be trusted. Non-concurrent-ready code is easy to obtain with frequent use of mutable static fields. But, there are other common coding practices which can result in code that is not safe with multiple threads passing through it at the same time. This customer wanted to increase the performance of their code and the best way to accomplish this is to have multiple threads processing their own data independently of each other. But, again, the class library code base would produce errant results if we did this. To demonstrate the problem, imagine this very simple static class which is indicative of the non-thread safe class library that I'm referring to: internal static class NonConcurrentAlgorithm
{
NonConcurrentAlgorithm.Add("Item 2");
Thread.Sleep(1000); // To demonstrate the problem consistently
foreach (var i in NonConcurrentAlgorithm.GetItems())
Console.WriteLine(i); When this code runs, the console could show:"Item 2" by itself
"Item 2" followed by "Item 1"
"Item 1" followed by "Item 2" Clearly, this is not desireable and the problem all stems from the threads sharing the one List<String> object. In fact, the List<T> class is not itself thread-safe and so it is even possible that having multiple threads accessing it simultaneously could result in items disappearing or a single item being inserted multiple times, or worse. It depends on how the List<T> class is internally implemented which is not documented and is subject to change. Read more: JEFFREY RICHTER'S BLOG
{
private static List<String> s_items = new List<String>();} If we have two threads using this class simultaneously, the results are unpredictable. For example, let's say we have this code: ThreadPool.QueueUserWorkItem(o => NonConcurrentAlgorithm.Add("Item 1"), null);
public static void Add(String item) { s_items.Add(item); }
public static String[] GetItems() { return s_items.ToArray(); }
NonConcurrentAlgorithm.Add("Item 2");
Thread.Sleep(1000); // To demonstrate the problem consistently
foreach (var i in NonConcurrentAlgorithm.GetItems())
Console.WriteLine(i); When this code runs, the console could show:"Item 2" by itself
"Item 2" followed by "Item 1"
"Item 1" followed by "Item 2" Clearly, this is not desireable and the problem all stems from the threads sharing the one List<String> object. In fact, the List<T> class is not itself thread-safe and so it is even possible that having multiple threads accessing it simultaneously could result in items disappearing or a single item being inserted multiple times, or worse. It depends on how the List<T> class is internally implemented which is not documented and is subject to change. Read more: JEFFREY RICHTER'S BLOG
HTTP Optimization the easy way: Part 1, how do I know?
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Modern websites necessarily make a lot of requests for resources back to the server. Through books like those by Steve Souders we’ve become increasingly aware that each of these requests causes a delay in whatever it is your user has requested being downloaded and displayed. If you don’t have both of Steve’s books, get them…and spend an hour or two going through his site…it’s awesome stuff. The term commonly used for the various efforts to reduce the number of requests made to a server is HTTP Optimization. This is a topic I’ve been investigating / playing with for quite a while (e.g., CSS Combiner / Minifier ASP.NET Control) and in fact one of the projects I worked on shortly before leaving the ASP.NET team morphed into the Sprite and Image Optimization Framework recently released as a preview by the ASP.NET team. What I wanted to do with this post wasn’t to go over these techniques in any great detail…rather it’s to cover some of the stuff I currently do when developing sites. In short there’s x techniques you can realistically use to reduce / improve the performance of a web page loading:1. Make the server code run REALLY fast…either by buying big servers, writing really slick code or by caching everything so it basically works like a static (plain HTML) site… 2. Make your web page really plain…no CSS / JS / Images…just plain old HTML; single request is always quickest – this is of course not usually acceptable!3. Radically reduce the number of requests made to the server. 4. Make each request deliver more content for less bandwidth.Of these I’m going to take a closer look at the last two in more detail.The very first thing you need to do when trying to work out how to fix page loading issues is to actually identify those issues! I tend to use Firefox when I’m looking at these issues; mainly because it has an amazingly powerful tool in Firebug for debugging and investigating pretty much anything a web site does on the client.Read more: mostlylucid
Too Much Computer Time Hurts Ability To Innovate & Remember
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According to a report in The New York Times, constant interaction with computer devices is robbing brains of much needed downtime.This means that overzealous geeks diminish their ability to learn, remember information, and come up with new ideas. One study showed that people who took a walk in nature learned significantly better than those who took a walk in a busy urban area, suggesting that information overload impedes learning.Read more: Business opportunities
How to get a job at Google, interview questions, hiring process
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The Google hiring process is designed to hire the most talented, creative, and articulate people in the world who will be the best fit for Google. The Google culture is different. You notice it the moment you walk on campus. It isn’t for everyone, but it works amazingly well for Google. That is why cultural fit is so important. There is a lot of mystery and misinformation about the Google hiring process so I would like to give you my perspective on how it works, and more importantly, why it works. Google receives over one million resumes per year, and hires about 1,000 to 4,000 people each year, depending on economic conditions. So, in any given year, less than one half of one percent of all applicants actually get hired. That means a lot of people who are very successful in their current jobs, and others who are very talented, will not be be hired at Google this year. That is just the reality of the numbers. As Google continues to grow there will be more opportunities. As of this writing there are about 1,000 job openings. The Process - In some ways the hiring process is pretty standard, it is the evaluation that is different. This video explains the steps and what to expect. All open jobs are listed on Google.com. Browse for a job that fits you and submit your resume online. Every resume submitted online gets reviewed. Recruiter screen - In the first step of the process the recruiter screens every resume for technical requirements, education, and experience to make sure there is a potential fit. If there is no fit you will get a polite “no fit at this time” response, but your resume will be kept on file. The recruiter really does look at existing resumes on file when a new job req opens up. If there is a fit, a recruiter will contact you to set up a phone screen interview. Read more: Don Dodge on The Next Big Thing
Introducing The Amazon Linux AMI
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Yes, you read that right. We now have a Linux AMI tuned for AWS!Many of our customers have asked us for a simple starting point for launching their Linux applications inside of Amazon EC2 that is easy to use, regularly maintained, and optimized for the Amazon EC2 environment. Starting today, customers can use Amazon Linux AMI to meet these needs. This just adds to the great selection of AMI options in Amazon EC2 that range from free to paid, giving you access to the operating systems and environments you need. Available in 32 and 64 bit form in all of the AWS Regions, Amazon Linux starts out as lean and mean as possible; no unnecessary applications or services are running. You can add more packages as needed, and you can do so very quickly and easily from a package repository that we host in Amazon S3. The AWS command-line tools and libraries are pre-installed and ready to use. We've also integrated Ubuntu's CloudInit to simplify the process of customizing each instance after it boots up. You can use CloudInit to set a default locale, set the hostname, generate and set up SSH private keys, and to set up mount points. You can also run custom commands and scripts on initial startup or on each reboot, as desired. Read more: Amazon Web Services Blog
How do I create a UNC to an IPv6 address?
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Windows UNC notation permits you to use a raw IPv4 address in dotted notation as a server name: For example, net view \\127.0.0.1 will show you the shared resources on the computer whose IP address is 127.0.0.1. But what about IPv6 addresses? IPv6 notation contains colons, which tend to mess up file name parsing since a colon is not a valid character in a path component. Enter the ipv6-literal.net domain.Take your IPv6 address, replace the colons with dashes, replace percent signs with the letter "s", and append .ipv6-literal.net. This magic host resolves back to the original IPv6 address, but it avoids characters which give parsers the heebie-jeebies. Note that this magic host is resolved internally by Windows and never hits the network. It's sort of a magic escape sequence.Read more: The old new thing
Login and registration process in WPF application
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Introduction:In this article I am creating a simple application for login and registration using WPF in visual studio 2010. In this application I am creating two window forms one is for Registration and another is for login. First of all user will register after then he/she can login. Now I am going to discuss in brief about this application. Step1: Open Visual Studio 2010 -> File -> New -> Project.New project template will display and select WPF Application like as follows Step 2: Enter your project name and click on OK button. Step 3: You will get the MainWindow.xaml window form, if you want to change then rename it and also change the StartupUri property of application into App.xaml like as follows: App.xaml:<Application x:Class="Login_WPF.App"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
StartupUri="Registration.xaml">
<Application.Resources></Application.Resources>
</Application> Step 4: Now design your Registration page as figure 2 or copy and page following inline code. Registration.xaml:<Window x:Class="Login_WPF.Registration"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
Title="Registration" Height="387" Width="528" Background="Black">
<Grid Height="350" Width="525" Background="Bisque">
<TextBlock Height="23" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="10,5,0,0" Name="textBlockHeading" Text="Registration:" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="110" FontSize="17" FontStretch="ExtraCondensed"/>
<!--Button as a Link button using style-->Read more: C# Corner
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
StartupUri="Registration.xaml">
<Application.Resources></Application.Resources>
</Application> Step 4: Now design your Registration page as figure 2 or copy and page following inline code. Registration.xaml:<Window x:Class="Login_WPF.Registration"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
Title="Registration" Height="387" Width="528" Background="Black">
<Grid Height="350" Width="525" Background="Bisque">
<TextBlock Height="23" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="10,5,0,0" Name="textBlockHeading" Text="Registration:" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="110" FontSize="17" FontStretch="ExtraCondensed"/>
<!--Button as a Link button using style-->Read more: C# Corner
Silverlight Session Management, Error handling, and Unit Test of WCF service
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AcknowledgementI had the following requirements:Session management.
In the second web service call, i want to know something from the first callImpersonate user
I don't want to enter my credentials if my service has to work as my user. Error handling
it’s not very cool to get a white website after an error occurs.Unit tests of the wcf service
It would be great to have tests for the stuff aboveLet's start. I'm going to implement each of these topics separately, and hopefully get a solution working till this blog entry is finish. You can download attached ZIP file which contain the solutions above requirements. IntroductionI just start with a new Silverlight solution in visual studio 2008. The only thing I change from original, is to assign a static port to the built in web server. This makes the life with WCF much easier. Then add a new Silverlight-enabled WCF Service to the web project, create some operation contract, and add a service reference to the silverlight project. Using the code1. Session management (with aspNetCompatibilityEnabled)For this, there are two possibilities:1. Do it yourself (Write something like a session agent service)
2. Use the ASP session management I guess there are lots of reasons not to use aspNetCompatibility (The most obvious might be performance), but the simplicity of it was the reason for me to choose it anyway. I have to say that I did not invent this, I just copied it from an article of SpoonStomper from the silverlight forum. The following goal I want to achieve. I press a button on my silverlight application which sends a string to my service. Then I want to press another button and get back this string again(Sounds really easy btw.). Read more: Codeproject
In the second web service call, i want to know something from the first callImpersonate user
I don't want to enter my credentials if my service has to work as my user. Error handling
it’s not very cool to get a white website after an error occurs.Unit tests of the wcf service
It would be great to have tests for the stuff aboveLet's start. I'm going to implement each of these topics separately, and hopefully get a solution working till this blog entry is finish. You can download attached ZIP file which contain the solutions above requirements. IntroductionI just start with a new Silverlight solution in visual studio 2008. The only thing I change from original, is to assign a static port to the built in web server. This makes the life with WCF much easier. Then add a new Silverlight-enabled WCF Service to the web project, create some operation contract, and add a service reference to the silverlight project. Using the code1. Session management (with aspNetCompatibilityEnabled)For this, there are two possibilities:1. Do it yourself (Write something like a session agent service)
2. Use the ASP session management I guess there are lots of reasons not to use aspNetCompatibility (The most obvious might be performance), but the simplicity of it was the reason for me to choose it anyway. I have to say that I did not invent this, I just copied it from an article of SpoonStomper from the silverlight forum. The following goal I want to achieve. I press a button on my silverlight application which sends a string to my service. Then I want to press another button and get back this string again(Sounds really easy btw.). Read more: Codeproject
Best open-source Wiki
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Citadel
Citadel is a collaboration suite (messaging and groupware). It provides support for Email, Calendaring/Scheduling, Address books, Bulletin boards, Mailing List Server, Instant Messaging, Wiki, Multiple domain support. TWiki - Wiki and Web 2.0 Application Platform
TWiki is a flexible, powerful, and easy to use enterprise wiki, enterprise collaboration platform, and web application platform. It is a Structured Wiki, typically used to run a project development space, a document management system, a knowledge base, or any other groupware tool, on an intranet, extranet or the Internet. TWiki is a cgi-bin script written in Perl. It reads a text file, hyperlinks it and converts it to HTML on the fly. MediaWiki - powers Wikipedia
MediaWiki is powers Wikipedia.org. MediaWiki is designed to be run on a large server farm for a website that gets millions of hits per day. MediaWiki is an extremely powerful, scalable software and a feature-rich wiki implementation. Pages use MediaWiki's wikitext format, so that users without knowledge of XHTML or CSS can edit them easily. (more..)Read more: Best Open Source
Citadel is a collaboration suite (messaging and groupware). It provides support for Email, Calendaring/Scheduling, Address books, Bulletin boards, Mailing List Server, Instant Messaging, Wiki, Multiple domain support. TWiki - Wiki and Web 2.0 Application Platform
TWiki is a flexible, powerful, and easy to use enterprise wiki, enterprise collaboration platform, and web application platform. It is a Structured Wiki, typically used to run a project development space, a document management system, a knowledge base, or any other groupware tool, on an intranet, extranet or the Internet. TWiki is a cgi-bin script written in Perl. It reads a text file, hyperlinks it and converts it to HTML on the fly. MediaWiki - powers Wikipedia
MediaWiki is powers Wikipedia.org. MediaWiki is designed to be run on a large server farm for a website that gets millions of hits per day. MediaWiki is an extremely powerful, scalable software and a feature-rich wiki implementation. Pages use MediaWiki's wikitext format, so that users without knowledge of XHTML or CSS can edit them easily. (more..)Read more: Best Open Source
הפייסבוק בתוך האאוטלוק? הייתכן?
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שלום חברים, שמי טל בטלר, אני משמש כיועץ תשתיות בחברת Agile Business Solutions. התלבטתי מה יהיה הפרסום הראשון שלי בבלוג, החלטתי ללכת על פיצ'ר נחמד שכולכם תאהבו. מה הוא עיקר שימושם של רוב משתמשי המחשב? בשתי מילים – Outlook & Facebook. פיצ'ר חדש מאפשר לנו לקשר בין שניהם. מה זה בעצם נותן לנו? את האפשרות לראות עדכוני מצב ופריטים שפורסמו לאחרונה מאנשי הקשר שלנו ב- Facebook, את תמונת הפרופיל ועוד! אז איך זה נראה???
Read more: Agile Business Solutions Blog
Подборка бесплатных шаблонов.
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Привет. Сегодня хочу продолжить серию подборок бесплатных шаблонов (HTML/CSS, Wordpress, Magento). Предыдущие подборки вы можете найти тут: Подборка бесплатных HTML шаблонов и тут: Подборка бесплатных шаблонов для Wordpress. GR8
Internet Explorer 9 Beta Product Guide
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Overview
This product guide outlines new features in Internet Explorer 9 Beta, highlights the top features, and provides additional information on features specific for end users, developers, and IT professionals. Read on to learn more about how Internet Explorer 9 unlocks the Beauty of the Web. Read more: MS Download
This product guide outlines new features in Internet Explorer 9 Beta, highlights the top features, and provides additional information on features specific for end users, developers, and IT professionals. Read on to learn more about how Internet Explorer 9 unlocks the Beauty of the Web. Read more: MS Download
Microsoft’s Latest Browser IE 9 Beta Available Now
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You can now download the beta bits (English) and view some applications using HTML5 and advancements in Internet Explorer 9 at http://www.beautyoftheweb.com/ 
Internet Explorer 9 Beta is available in many languages here. You can download Internet Explorer 9 Beta in the language that matches your version of Windows or choose the English version, which works with all versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7. Read more: Dr. Z's Blog
Internet Explorer 9 Beta is available in many languages here. You can download Internet Explorer 9 Beta in the language that matches your version of Windows or choose the English version, which works with all versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7. Read more: Dr. Z's Blog
Read more: Beauty of the web
IE9, Site Specific Browsers, and adding your own Jump List Items to Pinn
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Site Specific Browsers aren't a really new idea. In 2005 there was an app called Bubbles I ran for a while that would let you run a website with minimal "browser chrome." Mozilla Prism (né WebRunner) is a Firefox add-in that does a similar thing. Google Chrome includes the idea of Application Shortcuts. The idea of all this is that some web apps are really applications and you think about them as applications. For me, I think of Gmail and Facebook and Twitter and Basecamp as applications not necessarily as browser tabs. The notion of Site-Specific Browsers is definitely arriving. Internet Explorer 9 Beta (IE9) is out now and includes a featured called "Site Pinning" which is a effectively Site Specific Browsers. It's integrated nicely with Windows 7. It's easy for you as a developer or site owner to add these features to your site. Here's the basic idea from a markup perspective from a Channel 9 example:<meta name="application-name" content="Channel 9 Audio Player" />
<meta name="msapplication-tooltip" content="Channel 9 Podcasts" />
<meta name="msapplication-window" content="width=1024;height=768" />
<meta name="msapplication-task" content="name=Msdn Flash Podcasts;action-uri=./?topic=msdnFlash;icon-uri=Images/channel9_logo.ico" />
<meta name="msapplication-task" content="name=IE Podcasts;action-uri=./?topic=connectedShow;icon-uri=Images/channel9_logo.ico" />
<meta name="msapplication-task" content="name=Other Podcasts;action-uri=./?topic=other;icon-uri=Images/channel9_logo.ico" />
<meta name="msapplication-task" content="name=All Podcasts;action-uri=./;icon-uri=Images/channel9_logo.ico" />
<meta name="msapplication-navbutton-color" content="#FF3300" />
<meta name="msapplication-starturl" content="./" />
<meta name="msapplication-tooltip" content="Channel 9 Podcasts" />
<meta name="msapplication-window" content="width=1024;height=768" />
<meta name="msapplication-task" content="name=Msdn Flash Podcasts;action-uri=./?topic=msdnFlash;icon-uri=Images/channel9_logo.ico" />
<meta name="msapplication-task" content="name=IE Podcasts;action-uri=./?topic=connectedShow;icon-uri=Images/channel9_logo.ico" />
<meta name="msapplication-task" content="name=Other Podcasts;action-uri=./?topic=other;icon-uri=Images/channel9_logo.ico" />
<meta name="msapplication-task" content="name=All Podcasts;action-uri=./;icon-uri=Images/channel9_logo.ico" />
<meta name="msapplication-navbutton-color" content="#FF3300" />
<meta name="msapplication-starturl" content="./" />
Behind the design of the Internet Explorer 9 chrome
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Upload multiple files using Generic Handler in Silverlight 4
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This article describes for you the basic use of generic handler and how to upload multiple files using generic handler in Silverlight.What is Generic Handler? Generic handlers have an extension of ASHX. They're equivalent to custom handlers written in C Sharp or Visual Basic.NET in that they contain classes that fully implement IHttpHandler. They're convenient in the same way ASPX files are convenient. You simply surf to them and they're compiled automatically. First of all make a new Silverlight project.
Now right click on web project and click "Add New Item" and add a Generic Handler"By default Generic Handler has this code.public class Handler2 : IHttpHandler
{
public void ProcessRequest(HttpContext context)
{
context.Response.ContentType = "text/plain";
context.Response.Write("Hello World");
}
public bool IsReusable
{
get
{
return false;
}
}
}Change ProcessRequest method.public void ProcessRequest(HttpContext context)
{
var imageName = context.Request["file"];
string str;
using (StreamReader streamReader = new StreamReader(context.Request.InputStream))
{
str = streamReader.ReadToEnd();
byte[] array = Convert.FromBase64String(str);
using (System.IO.FileStream fileStream = new FileStream(context.Server.MapPath("~/uploadedimages/") + imageName, FileMode.Create))
{
fileStream.Write(array, 0, array.Length);
}
}
}Now let's add a button MainPage.xaml.<Grid x:Name="LayoutRoot" Background="Blue">
<Button Content="Browse images" Height="23" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="88,46,0,0" Click="button1_Click" Name="button1" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="206" /> Read more: C# Corner
Now right click on web project and click "Add New Item" and add a Generic Handler"By default Generic Handler has this code.public class Handler2 : IHttpHandler
{
public void ProcessRequest(HttpContext context)
{
context.Response.ContentType = "text/plain";
context.Response.Write("Hello World");
}
public bool IsReusable
{
get
{
return false;
}
}
}Change ProcessRequest method.public void ProcessRequest(HttpContext context)
{
var imageName = context.Request["file"];
string str;
using (StreamReader streamReader = new StreamReader(context.Request.InputStream))
{
str = streamReader.ReadToEnd();
byte[] array = Convert.FromBase64String(str);
using (System.IO.FileStream fileStream = new FileStream(context.Server.MapPath("~/uploadedimages/") + imageName, FileMode.Create))
{
fileStream.Write(array, 0, array.Length);
}
}
}Now let's add a button MainPage.xaml.<Grid x:Name="LayoutRoot" Background="Blue">
<Button Content="Browse images" Height="23" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Margin="88,46,0,0" Click="button1_Click" Name="button1" VerticalAlignment="Top" Width="206" /> Read more: C# Corner
Vienna 6 experience
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Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Vienna 6 experience Thanks for viewing the Vienna 6 experience! The following description will tell you all about this new release of the Vienna Transformation Pack. About
The Vienna 6 experience is the most advanced transformation pack for Windows 7 to date. It has been changed completely since Vienna 5. The most unique new feature has to be the whole new and exclusive Rainmeter suite, created by the Rainmeter guru Poiru. Where can i get it?
You can download the pack at the Vienna 6 experience website. I have done this so i can give a much quicker support and i can count the downloads this way. The website link is found below. Feature List
All things that are packed in the Vienna 6 experience are explained below.Overall:
Installation Guide
The idea behind the installation guide has been changed, and now you'll find 3 installation guides instead of one. This goes along with the new Folder Hierarchy, which makes it easier to install things in a more ordered way. Folder Hierarchy
The new folder hierarchy has ordered the pack into several categories, which makes it easier to install everything.Rainmeter:Panels System Suite
Panels System is Vienna 6 experience's own Rainmeter suite. It has been made by :devpoiru: and it mixes advanced Rainmeter coding with an easy to use interface, which makes it easier to use and control. It looks nice, too. Vienna 6 gadgets
Vienna 6 experience comes with several Rainmeter gadgets made by :devminhtrimatrix: and :devslifer2006:. These gadgets goes along nicely with the Panels System suite and the overall package. Read more: Vienna
SlimDrivers Beta Provides Automatic Updates for Your Windows PC
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Overview
SlimDrivers is a utility currently in Public Beta that allows you to easily update your computer hardware drivers. It provides an easy way to update PC drivers, back them up, roll them back if they don’t work, and allows you to schedule updates as well. Setup and Use
Installation is easy following the wizard and accepting the defaults.Read more: How-to-geek
SecondShell is a portable utility that makes Windows Explorer a lot more user friendly
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SecondShell is a tool that makes window management both less fiddly and more keyboard shortcut oriented. It doesn't actually do a whole lot (it's only 200 kilobytes!), but it adds such handy features that you'll wonder why Windows doesn't include them by default. First, you can resize windows by holding down Alt+Right click and dragging the mouse anywhere in the window. Alt+Left click moves the window. By Odin's beard, how frickin' awesome is that?! Ctrl+Alt+Arrow key maximizes your window either horizontally or vertically, and Ctrl+Alt+Numpad 1-9 moves the window into the respective corner of your screen. There's a bunch of other keyboard shortcuts, too (but Windows 7 already has most of them built-in, I think). Read more: DownloadSquad
Insync Is Dropbox For Google Users
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Microsoft Sharepoint, Box.net or Dropbox are just a few of many services that let users share and sync files across multiple platforms and access them from anywhere. But there’s a new player in town: Insync, which just launched with the same selling proposition but stands out with tight Google integration (for Gmail, Google account, and Google Apps account holders). In other words, if you’re using one of the existing file management services but have always wanted to sync and share Google Docs (in addition to other files), then you should read on (Insync works with both Windows and Mac OS). How does it work
After signing in with your Google account (no separate registration required), Insync runs seamlessly with the OS and in the background. Much like with other file management services, there is no UI. You can drag and drop files or create folders just like you do under Windows Explorer or Mac Finder. Other than the single sign-on through Google, Insync is different from Dropbox and other services through syncing Google Docs automatically and displaying it as a folder under Insync. Whenever you add, delete, or edit a file on your desktop, it will automatically sync to Google Docs and vice versa – in (near) real-time. Needless to say, file sharing and syncing works outside Google Docs, too. Read more: CrunchBase
Nature photographs by Mike Swanson
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Take a closer look at nature's beauty with this Windows 7 theme, showcasing photos from Microsoft blogger Mike Swanson.
Grant access to certificate’s private key in IIS 7.5
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After a bad week (where my work machine died), I’ve finished reinstalling everything. This time, I’ve went with Windows 7 and as a bonus, I’ve ended up with IIS 7.5. One of the things I needed to recover my working environment was to configure access to the certificates’ private keys (I have several WCF services which need certificates). In the old days, the solution was to use the httpcertcfg tool and use the command line. With IIS 7.5 (also available for IIS running in Vista and Server 2008 with SP2), we’ve got a “new” security feature called application pool identities. According to the docs, application pool identities “allow you to run app pools under a unique account without having to create and manage domains or local accounts”. Until now, everything looks good and this is, indeed, an welcomed new feature. Now, my problem was granting access to the private keys of the certificate to that account. Initially, I’ve tried using my beloved winhttpcertcfg tool: C:\Windows\system32>winhttpcertcfg -g -c LOCAL_MACHINE\My -s mycertificate -a "IIS APPPOOL\ASP.NET v4.0"The result: “Error: no account information found.” Not good. I know that I could use the good old FindPrivateKey utility, but I’ve thought that there should be an easy way of doing these things. And yes, there is. I’ve tripped into an even easier way of granting permissions to a private key (interestingly, available since Windows Vista Read more: LA.NET [EN]
Silverlight 4 – Using The Visual State Manager And Behaviors
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In this tutorial, I am going to use the Visual State Manager and Behaviors to do animations. I will be using Blend 4 to do this tutorial. Blend will make this much easier to do rather than writing the XAML by hand. The Visual State Manager allows you to create “states” of objects and then move to those states. Moving to those states can be done through code(just one line of code), or by using behaviors.NOTE: The VisualStateManager was added in Silverlight 2. However, it wasn’t included in WPF until .Net 4. To use the VisualStateManager in WPF in .Net 3.5 SP1, you will need to download the WPF Toolkit from CodePlex. So first, we will create a new project in Blend. We will just create a Silverlight 4 application without the website. We will name the project VisualStateExample.Read more: Eclipsed4utoo's Blog
A free tool for creating SCORM learning materials yourself
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nVLC
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IntroductionEver since I started using VLC Media Player, I was impressed with its capabilities, especially its built-in codecs which require no further installations. After exploring the VLC structure a little further, I found the libvlc.dll module which is an API for the entire VLC engine, and contains a rich set of rendering, streaming, and transcoding functionality. Libvlc is a native DLL which exposes hundreds of C method calls. The main concept of this article is to provide a .NET API for the libVLC interface so the vast majority of VLC functionality could be utilized in managed applications. VLC 1.1.x introduced several improvements and fixes detailed here; the most compelling ones are GPU decoding and simplified LIBVLC API with no exception handling. Version 1.1.1 also adds support for the Google WebM video format. P/InvokeIn order to use libvlc in a managed application, it has to be wrapped by some kind of interoperability layer. There are three ways to accomplish this:C++/CLI
COM Interop
P/Invoke
Since libvlc is a native library which exports pure C methods, P/Invoke is chosen here. If you are planning to enrich your knowledge of P/Invoke, libvlc is a great place to start. It has a large number of structures, unions, and callback functions, and some methods require custom marshalling to handle double pointers and string conversions. We have to download the VLC source code to better understand the libvlc interface. Read more: Codeproject
COM Interop
P/Invoke
Since libvlc is a native library which exports pure C methods, P/Invoke is chosen here. If you are planning to enrich your knowledge of P/Invoke, libvlc is a great place to start. It has a large number of structures, unions, and callback functions, and some methods require custom marshalling to handle double pointers and string conversions. We have to download the VLC source code to better understand the libvlc interface. Read more: Codeproject
sessionthief – HTTP Session Cloning & Cookie Stealing Tool
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sessionthief performs HTTP session cloning by cookie stealing. It can issue basic nmap and nbtscan commands to see which IPs are on the subnet, or just listen for IPs broadcasting packets. It can quickly perform ARP poison routing to get packets given the IP of the client if not on an open network or hub, and should also work with interfaces in monitor mode. It integrates automatically with Firefox, dynamically creating a temporary profile for each attack performed. In this way, in contrast to tools like the middler, it doesn’t require any additional configuration, and makes it easy to simultaneously own multiple logins to the same site. For example, if multiple clients on the open or WEP-encrypted wireless network you are on are on Facebook (or yahoo mail or just about any site you log into), you can:Start the program
Select your interface
Hit watch
Select a request from each of them to facebook, and click the session button.Read more: Darknet.org.uk
Select your interface
Hit watch
Select a request from each of them to facebook, and click the session button.Read more: Darknet.org.uk
Free open source alternatives to Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator
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For web designers, developers and amateur creative types that work with a lot of graphics and image manipulation, the decision of which software to use is an important one. While Adobe Photoshop and its related Creative Suite programs are well respected throughout the world, open source software is making some big gains in terms of popularity and acceptance. Each graphics software release continues to push the envelop of what’s possible in terms of design. Here’s a quick comparison between the proprietary and free, open source software available for graphic designers and web developers. Read more: Robcubbon.com
Cassandra cluster in a single machine with Ubuntu and VirtualBox
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This is a simple tutorial on creating a Cassandra cluster using a single machine with only Ubuntu and VirtualBox.If you’re willing to do this, I’m assuming you have some basic knowledge of Linux commands, such as for setting permissions (sudo, chown, chmod) and installing packages. However, it’s really easy. In this case we will be using a Ubuntu machine, hosting other Ubuntu machines as well. Please consider that this VM approach could be resource consuming, but I just wanted to have this “realistic” scenario. You should try doing basic, conservative installations (or distros) of Ubuntu on the virtual machines to preserve resources. So, we will be using a Ubuntu machine as host, with VirtualBox serving other Virtual Machines. Cassandra will be running both on the “real” machine as well as the virtual ones.So, let’s get started on installing Cassandra on the first machine, so we will be familiar with the steps. 1. Downloading prerequisites.First of all, you’ll have to download Cassandra in any flavor you like. In the example I’m using the binaries, but there’s also git and SVN repositories.For running Cassandra you will need a JDK like OpenJDK, which you can easily install vía package manager or command line: $ sudo apt-get install openjdk-6-jreDownload VirtualBox, as a deb package, the installation is pretty straight-forward.Of course, you will need a Ubuntu installation disk or image.
2. Configuring Cassandra on the host. Now, let’s proceed with the first Cassandra install.Create the user and group that will be running the Cassandra processes:$ sudo groupadd -g 501 cassandra
$ sudo useradd -m -u 501 -g cassandra -d /home/cassandra -s /bin/bash -c "Cassandra User" cassandra
$ sudo passwd cassandraRead more: Silicoholic
2. Configuring Cassandra on the host. Now, let’s proceed with the first Cassandra install.Create the user and group that will be running the Cassandra processes:$ sudo groupadd -g 501 cassandra
$ sudo useradd -m -u 501 -g cassandra -d /home/cassandra -s /bin/bash -c "Cassandra User" cassandra
$ sudo passwd cassandraRead more: Silicoholic
Code Access Security in ASP.NET 4.0
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In previous articles we have seen how the Code Access Security model changed in .NET Framework 4.0.In What's new in code access security in .NET Framework 4.0 - Part I we saw how the CAS Policy System that was used until .NET Framework 3.5 has now been replaced by the Level2 Security Transparent Model. Permissions to use the protected resources granted to an assembly have been moved from the assembly itself to the host in which the assembly runs. All assemblies in a host now have the same security restrictions, thereby conforming to the Homogeneous Domain concept. In What's new in code access security in .NET Framework 4.0 - Part II we saw that, despite the Level2 Security Transparent Model being apparently all-or-nothing, it is, in fact, possible to use Allow Partially Trusted Caller Attribute (APTCA) to mix together SecurityTransparent, SecurityCritical and SecuritySafeCritical attributes to define granular permissions to grant to an assembly when it need to access protected resources. In the two previous articles, we have demonstrated how the new CAS technology works, by providing some examples of simple console applications. We said that, in these cases, there is no host to manage, because any simple application will run as an unhosted application, always as full trust code. In this article we want to analyze how the Level2 Security Transparent Model works within a hosted environment. To do so, we will consider the most important hosted environment that is used today, the ASP.NET Application Domains. We will start by analyzing how ASP.NET application domains have been modified so as to implement the Level2 Security Transparent Model. We then see how to use configuration files to specify the permissions to grant to assemblies loaded inside these application domains. We will do this with the aid of some examples. Finally, we will see how to use APTCA assemblies in ASP.NET to define, in a more granular way, different permissions for different blocks of code, when more flexibility is required.
ASP.NET 4.0 Application DomainAs described in the MSDN library, an application domain is, “...a construct that hosts use to isolate code running within a process...”We know that, when a managed application is executed, the .NET runtime is able to create an application domain in which the assemblies are loaded and executed. For security reasons, an application domain is isolated from other application domains, and the assemblies loaded inside it cannot overpass its boundaries. Read more: Simple-talk
ASP.NET 4.0 Application DomainAs described in the MSDN library, an application domain is, “...a construct that hosts use to isolate code running within a process...”We know that, when a managed application is executed, the .NET runtime is able to create an application domain in which the assemblies are loaded and executed. For security reasons, an application domain is isolated from other application domains, and the assemblies loaded inside it cannot overpass its boundaries. Read more: Simple-talk
A Visual Guide of the C++ Compilation Process
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We seem to get a lot of threads asking about headers, definition and redefinition errors, including cpp files, etc... so it is time for diagrams (but first, some words)!A typical C/C++ compiler consists of several pieces: the preprocessor, the parser, the lexer, the linker, code generator, code optimization, etc... but for the purpose of simplicity I'm going to refer to the whole "package" as "the compiler" unless otherwise noted or if I'm making a specific reference to a certain piece. In a nutshell this is what the compiler does:
September 2010 Security Release ISO Image
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This DVD5 ISO image file contains the security updates for Windows released on Windows Update on September 14th, 2010. The image does not contain security updates for other Microsoft products. This DVD5 ISO image is intended for administrators that need to download multiple individual language versions of each security update and that do not use an automated solution such as Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). You can use this ISO image to download multiple updates in all languages at the same time. Important: Be sure to check the individual security bulletins at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security prior to deployment of these updates to ensure that the files have not been updated at a later date. Read more: MS Download
Display large amount of data in GridView with search functionality
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IntroductionThis article explains how to display thousands or millions of data in GridView in ASP.Net 3.5.In Part - 1, our main goal is to achieve super fast performance of gridview when it display large amount of data. When user navigates through data, they should not have feeling that they are navigating to millions of data. In Part - 2, we will implement search functionality over the GridView.To achieve this goal, we will leverage custom paging, caching and AJAX. We will also implement sorting in this part. I have used AdventureWorks sample database for SQLServer 2008. BackgroundBasic knowledge of ASP.Net 3.5, C#, Custom Paging, GridView, Caching, AJAX, SQL Server 2008 and VS2008 is required.Other than these, I have used DataPager with GridView for custom paging. Originally you can not use DataPager with GridView directly because DataPager can be used with control which implements IPageableItemContainer interface. So we have to create new custom control which derives from GridView and also implements IPageableItemContainer. For more info visit here .
OverviewLet’s first understand the whole process behind it. When GridView will be displayed first time, we will check whether the data is already being cached or not. If not then we will fetch all the records from database and store it in cache. We will display limited records depends on page index and page size on each request. We will calculate StartingRowIndex and MaximumRecords for custom paging as below:SatrtingRowIndex = (PageIndex -1)*PageSize;
MaximumRecords = PageSize.If page index is 1 and page size is 10 then startingRowIndex will be 0 and MaximumRecords will be 10, so we will return 10 rows from datatable from 0 to 9. Likewise if page index is 2 and page size is 10 then startingRowIndex will be 10 and MaximumRecords will be 10, so we will return 10 rows from datatable starting from 10 to 19. So every time we will bind only 10 records to GridView but we will display page number based on total records in the database. This is where custom paging and DataPager comes into picture.Read more: Codeproject
OverviewLet’s first understand the whole process behind it. When GridView will be displayed first time, we will check whether the data is already being cached or not. If not then we will fetch all the records from database and store it in cache. We will display limited records depends on page index and page size on each request. We will calculate StartingRowIndex and MaximumRecords for custom paging as below:SatrtingRowIndex = (PageIndex -1)*PageSize;
MaximumRecords = PageSize.If page index is 1 and page size is 10 then startingRowIndex will be 0 and MaximumRecords will be 10, so we will return 10 rows from datatable from 0 to 9. Likewise if page index is 2 and page size is 10 then startingRowIndex will be 10 and MaximumRecords will be 10, so we will return 10 rows from datatable starting from 10 to 19. So every time we will bind only 10 records to GridView but we will display page number based on total records in the database. This is where custom paging and DataPager comes into picture.Read more: Codeproject
Silverlight DataGrid - Performing DML Operations (Update, Delete and Insert)
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Last week, I was working on a Silverlight LOB application. I came across a requirement for providing an ASP.NET GridView like behavior for the Silverlight DataGrid. I thought of writing an article and sharing my code with you all. In this article, we will see how to perform Insert, Update and Delete operations in the Silverlight DataGrid. We will first see the Update and Delete operations, and then explore Insert operations on the Silverlight DataGrid. I have used WCF Data Service in this article.
I have also used a SQL Server 2008 database and the Database name is ‘Company’ with a table ‘Customer’. The DDL statement is as below:CREATETABLE [dbo].[Customer](
[CustomerID] [int] NOTNULL,
[CustomerName] [varchar](50)NOTNULL,
[Address] [varchar](50)NOTNULL,
[City] [varchar](50)NOTNULL,
[State] [varchar](50)NOTNULL,
[Age] [int] NOTNULL,
CONSTRAINT [PK_Customer] PRIMARYKEYCLUSTERED
(
[CustomerID] ASC
)WITH (PAD_INDEX =OFF,STATISTICS_NORECOMPUTE =OFF,IGNORE_DUP_KEY=OFF,
ALLOW_ROW_LOCKS =ON,ALLOW_PAGE_LOCKS =ON)ON [PRIMARY]
)ON [PRIMARY]
Creating WCF Data Service In this step we will be creating a WCF Data Service using VS2010. This is currently targeting .NET 3.5 SP1. Step 1: Open VS2010 and create a blank solution. Name it as ‘SILV4_DataGrid_DML’. To this solution add a ‘WCF Service Application’ project, name it as ‘WCF_DMLService’. Since we are going to use WCF Data Service, we do not more require the interface ‘IService1’ and ‘Service1.svc’, so delete both these files. Step 2: In the service project, add a new ADO.NET Entity Data Model, name it as ‘CompanyEDMX.edmx’. Complete the Wizard. Select SQL Server connection to ‘Company’ database and select ‘Customer’ table. After the completion of the wizard, you will find the following .edmx generated. Read more: dot Net curry.com
I have also used a SQL Server 2008 database and the Database name is ‘Company’ with a table ‘Customer’. The DDL statement is as below:CREATETABLE [dbo].[Customer](
[CustomerID] [int] NOTNULL,
[CustomerName] [varchar](50)NOTNULL,
[Address] [varchar](50)NOTNULL,
[City] [varchar](50)NOTNULL,
[State] [varchar](50)NOTNULL,
[Age] [int] NOTNULL,
CONSTRAINT [PK_Customer] PRIMARYKEYCLUSTERED
(
[CustomerID] ASC
)WITH (PAD_INDEX =OFF,STATISTICS_NORECOMPUTE =OFF,IGNORE_DUP_KEY=OFF,
ALLOW_ROW_LOCKS =ON,ALLOW_PAGE_LOCKS =ON)ON [PRIMARY]
)ON [PRIMARY]
Creating WCF Data Service In this step we will be creating a WCF Data Service using VS2010. This is currently targeting .NET 3.5 SP1. Step 1: Open VS2010 and create a blank solution. Name it as ‘SILV4_DataGrid_DML’. To this solution add a ‘WCF Service Application’ project, name it as ‘WCF_DMLService’. Since we are going to use WCF Data Service, we do not more require the interface ‘IService1’ and ‘Service1.svc’, so delete both these files. Step 2: In the service project, add a new ADO.NET Entity Data Model, name it as ‘CompanyEDMX.edmx’. Complete the Wizard. Select SQL Server connection to ‘Company’ database and select ‘Customer’ table. After the completion of the wizard, you will find the following .edmx generated. Read more: dot Net curry.com
SSIS MSBuild task now included in MSBuild Extension Pack
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The information in this blog post may be of interest to anyone out there that is using Continuous Integration with msbuild in order to build/deploy a project that includes SSIS packages.The MSBuild Extension Pack at http://msbuildextensionpack.codeplex.com/ now includes an MSBuild task that will build an SSIS project, the output from which is a .deploymentmanifest file that can be used in concert with the SSIS deployment utility. Building a SSIS project using the SSIS MSBuild Task essentially has the same effect as right-clicking on a SSIS project and selecting Build with CreateDeploymentUtility=True (i.e. produces a .deploymentmanifest file): 
Read more: SQL Blog.com
Read more: SQL Blog.com
Blend Bits 8: Trigger Fires Action
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Blend 3 introduced the idea of Triggers, Actions and Behaviors as a way in which a developer can package up functionality for re-use by a designer in a drag-drop manner.
The way I think of them in my head;Action – piece of code that does some single thing.
Trigger – piece of code that causes some Actions to run at “some point”.
Behavior – piece of code that attaches itself to some other object and does something with it. Anything.
One of the things that my slightly-too-detailed-obsessed brain struggles to deal with is that in Blend both Behaviors and Actions show up in the Assets panel under a title of Behaviors;
Read more: Mike Taulty's Blog
Determine Your ASP.NET Page's View State Size
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Introduction
The ASP.NET WebForms model aims to simplify web development by blurring the line between the client and the server. In short, WebForms allow the page developer to set aside the fact that the browser and the web server are temporally, physically, and logically disconnected. The page developer can create server-side event handlers that execute in response to a client-side action (like clicking a button). He can make server-side changes to properties of Web controls on the page and need not worry about reinstating those properties on the subsequent postback. One of the essential ingredients for performing this magic is view state. View state represents the state of an ASP.NET web page that is to be remembered across postbacks. On each page visit, an ASP.NET web page automatically constructs this state information and stores it to a hidden form field on the page named __VIEWSTATE. When the form is submitted, the browser returns this hidden form field to the server; the ASP.NET page then parses the view state information to reconstruct the state from the previous page visit. This entire process happens automatically behind the scenes and is, in part, what makes ASP.NET web development so accessible. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a free lunch, and view state is no exception. The presence of view state adds to the size of the page, thereby resulting in larger page sizes that can negatively effect the user experience. What's more, certain controls - such as DropDownLists and GridViews - can significantly add to the heft of a page's view state. It's a good practice for WebForm developers to keep an eye on their pages' view state sizes to ensure an optimal user experience. This article two ways to programmatically determine a page's view state size and to provide a warning should the view state size exceed some specified threshold. Determining View State Size By Using A Custom PageStatePersister Class
Underneath the covers, view state serialization is handled by an object of type PageStatePersister. (The PageStatePersister class is an abstract class that defines the base-level functionality for serializing view state to some persistent medium.) By default, ASP.NET pages use the HiddenFieldPageStatePersister class, which is a class that extends PageStatePersister and serializes view state to a hidden form field. Read more: 4 guys from rolla.com
The ASP.NET WebForms model aims to simplify web development by blurring the line between the client and the server. In short, WebForms allow the page developer to set aside the fact that the browser and the web server are temporally, physically, and logically disconnected. The page developer can create server-side event handlers that execute in response to a client-side action (like clicking a button). He can make server-side changes to properties of Web controls on the page and need not worry about reinstating those properties on the subsequent postback. One of the essential ingredients for performing this magic is view state. View state represents the state of an ASP.NET web page that is to be remembered across postbacks. On each page visit, an ASP.NET web page automatically constructs this state information and stores it to a hidden form field on the page named __VIEWSTATE. When the form is submitted, the browser returns this hidden form field to the server; the ASP.NET page then parses the view state information to reconstruct the state from the previous page visit. This entire process happens automatically behind the scenes and is, in part, what makes ASP.NET web development so accessible. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a free lunch, and view state is no exception. The presence of view state adds to the size of the page, thereby resulting in larger page sizes that can negatively effect the user experience. What's more, certain controls - such as DropDownLists and GridViews - can significantly add to the heft of a page's view state. It's a good practice for WebForm developers to keep an eye on their pages' view state sizes to ensure an optimal user experience. This article two ways to programmatically determine a page's view state size and to provide a warning should the view state size exceed some specified threshold. Determining View State Size By Using A Custom PageStatePersister Class
Underneath the covers, view state serialization is handled by an object of type PageStatePersister. (The PageStatePersister class is an abstract class that defines the base-level functionality for serializing view state to some persistent medium.) By default, ASP.NET pages use the HiddenFieldPageStatePersister class, which is a class that extends PageStatePersister and serializes view state to a hidden form field. Read more: 4 guys from rolla.com
Using OpenSSH with smartcards
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OpenSSH is the most popular connection system to remote computers. It is free software available under Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and even Windows. OpenSSH is probably used by hundred thousands of users. In this HOWTO, you will connect from your computer (later called "client") to a remote computer (later called "server") using a smart card or a token, for complete security.This tutorial covers:
- How to install OpenSSH version 5.5p1 server and client under GNU/Linux and Mac OS X.
- How to upgrade OpenSSH client under Mac OS X without breaking your box.
- Secure shell access (ssh).
- Secure Copy (scp).
- Secure File Transfer Protocol (sftp), a replacement for scp.
- OpenSSH ssh-agent usage.
- Gnome Keyring Daemon, Gnome replacement for ssh-agent
Film Industry Hires Cyber Hitmen To Take Down Pirates
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Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Girish Kumar, managing director of Aiplex Software says his company is being hired by the film industry to attack online pirates. He says if a provider did not do anything to remove the link or content hosted on its site, his company would launch what is known as a denial-of-service (DoS) attack on the offending computer server. From the article: 'Kumar said that at the moment most of the payment for his company's services came from the film industry in India. "We are tied up with more than 30 companies in Bollywood. They are the major production houses." As for Hollywood films, he said they, too, used his services Read more: Slashdot
Google API for .NET
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Project DescriptionGoogle API for .NET (called Gapi4net) is a wrapper of API's Google. Google introduced a set of technique that we can use at server side (request from the Url that expose as service from Google) and client side (request through Javascript library). Gapi4net, however, only wrapped some of API from the server side. And in this library we wrapped many APIs as: Web, Local, Video, Blog, News, Book, Image, Patent and specially is Google translation. We wrapped this because sometimes we need build some of components at server side and expose to client only HTML code, javascript and css script. Maybe we also need get some information from the service that expose from Google API at server side and that is reason we made this library.
If some people going to use Gapi4net, they shall recognize that they are very easy to call the service from Google API through our library. To see that benefit, please see our example as below:var webResult = Gapi4NetFactory<Web>
.Init()
.With(x => x.Version, "1.0")
.With(x => x.Query, "Google")
.Create();
Read more: Codeplex
If some people going to use Gapi4net, they shall recognize that they are very easy to call the service from Google API through our library. To see that benefit, please see our example as below:var webResult = Gapi4NetFactory<Web>
.Init()
.With(x => x.Version, "1.0")
.With(x => x.Query, "Google")
.Create();
Read more: Codeplex
Is That the Right Version of Mscoreei.dll?
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After installing .NET 4.0 or later you may notice something a little unusual about your .NET processes. Here is a partial list of the loaded modules of a simple “Hello World” executable compiled with the .NET 2.0 compiler. start end module name60f00000 61491000 mscorwks C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\mscorwks.dll6c650000 6c6b6000 mscoreei C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\mscoreei.dll6d420000 6d46a000 MSCOREE C:\Windows\SYSTEM32\MSCOREE.DLL 75a80000 75aca000 KERNELBASE C:\Windows\system32\KERNELBASE.dllSomething here looks out of place – the mscoreei.dll file is loaded from the v4.0.30319 folder. What is it doing there next to the main clr dll (mscorwks.dll) from v2.0.50727? Actually, that’s the expected behavior. We call mscoreei.dll the “shim implementation”, or “shim impl” for short, and it’s new for .NET 4.0. The third dll in the list above, previously known as the “shim”, is now more accurately known as the “shell shim”. The two are tightly paired to do the main job that was previously done by mscoree alone – providing the interfaces for loading the runtime. Generally speaking, the shell shim now consists of thin wrapper functions, each of which delegates its functionality to a corresponding function in the shim implementation. Why the split? We’ve seen significant numbers of machine reboots as part of .NET redist installation, typically due to needing to update a file that is in use. The most common file in use has been mscoree.dll, which is loaded by every single .NET application, and even some services such as MSI. As a result, we undertook the mscoree “split” to avoid machine reboots. By moving the shim implementation into a version-specific file, we are able to deploy a new version of mscoreei.dll (say in the v5.0 .NET folder, as part of .NET 5.0 installation), without touching the machine-wide mscoree.dll file. The next time a managed app is run, mscoree will dynamically find the new mscoreei and defer each of its function calls to it. That way we can deploy new versions of the framework on a machine running existing managed applications without requiring a restart. Read more: CLR Team Blog
Vulnerability In .NET AES Implementation Puts ASP.NET Web Sites at Risk
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ASP.NET web applications that leverage Forms Authentication, ASP.NET Membership Providers, ASP.NET Role Providers, and/or ViewState encryption are vulnerable to data exposure and potentially tampering. Details to be given this Friday, Sept. 17th at the ‘ekoparty Security Conference’ in Buenos Aires. 'Padding Oracle' Crypto Attack Affects Millions of ASP.NET Applications
"It's worth noting that the attack is 100% reliable, i.e. one can be sure that once they run the attack, they can exploit the target. It's just a matter of time. If the attacker is lucky, then he can own any ASP.NET website in seconds. The average time for the attack to complete is 30 minutes. The longest time it ever takes is less than 50 minutes," Duong said.” Padding oracles everywhere
“The second part presents a previously unknown advanced attack. The most significant new discovery is an universal Padding Oracle affecting every ASP.NET web application. In short, you can decrypt cookies, view states, form authentication tickets, membership password, user data, and anything else encrypted using the framework's API!”
Presented by Rizzo and DuongThis technique allows the attacker to discover the AES Machine Key used by various ASP.NET features to encrypt and decrypt data stored on the web client. There is a vulnerability in the AES algorithm implementation in .NET. This might be a bit premature, since the presentation details haven’t been given but a quick mitigation should be to switch over to 3DES instead of AES to protect your web sites. Hopefully a patch from Microsoft will be released that will solve this issue. Read more: Security through absurdity
"It's worth noting that the attack is 100% reliable, i.e. one can be sure that once they run the attack, they can exploit the target. It's just a matter of time. If the attacker is lucky, then he can own any ASP.NET website in seconds. The average time for the attack to complete is 30 minutes. The longest time it ever takes is less than 50 minutes," Duong said.” Padding oracles everywhere
“The second part presents a previously unknown advanced attack. The most significant new discovery is an universal Padding Oracle affecting every ASP.NET web application. In short, you can decrypt cookies, view states, form authentication tickets, membership password, user data, and anything else encrypted using the framework's API!”
Presented by Rizzo and DuongThis technique allows the attacker to discover the AES Machine Key used by various ASP.NET features to encrypt and decrypt data stored on the web client. There is a vulnerability in the AES algorithm implementation in .NET. This might be a bit premature, since the presentation details haven’t been given but a quick mitigation should be to switch over to 3DES instead of AES to protect your web sites. Hopefully a patch from Microsoft will be released that will solve this issue. Read more: Security through absurdity
Windows API Code Pack v1.1 Released!
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Last Tuesday (31.08.2010) Microsoft released a new version for the excellent managed library, Windows API Code Pack.For those who don’t know, this library serves as a managed wrapper for many Windows APIs which are not included in .NET framework, especially new features from Windows Vista and Windows 7. I’ve been working with this library for quite some time now and I must say it is “.NET missing piece”. Most of Windows features which doesn’t exists in .NET are at your fingertips =, without handling all the Interop stuff yourself. With the coming of .NET Framework v4.0 which support side by side execution, we finally can write managed shell extensions without to worry about race conditions between the installed CLRs. And what could be a better starting point for such a shell extension than Windows API Code Pack? What’s New?So, what’s new in this release?Well, the official site says that other than bug fixes, the main new features are:Shell Object Watcher
Preview Handler APIs
Thumbnail Handler APIs Read more: Arik Poznanski's Blog
Preview Handler APIs
Thumbnail Handler APIs Read more: Arik Poznanski's Blog
Dependency Injection
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Dependency injection is a technique used in object-oriented programming languages. It promotes loose coupling of components by passing dependencies to an object, rather than having an object instantiate its own dependencies. What is Dependency Injection? Object-oriented design can lead to the creation of structures containing components that are dependent upon other classes, known as dependencies. In such situations, you may decide to instantiate a class' dependencies from within the dependent class, using the new keyword.
As an example, consider the code below. This defines a class, named "PaymentTerms", that holds the details required to calculate the monthly payments for a loan. The class includes three properties that define the price of an item being purchased, the deposit being paid and the term of the agreement. The GetMonthlyPayment method calculates the monthly fees using a PaymentCalculator object. This calculator is a dependency of PaymentTerms and is initialised when an object is instantiated.
NB: The operation of the PaymentCalculator class has been oversimplified but this is unimportant for the subject of this article. The properties are defined using C# 3.0 automatically implemented property syntax. For earlier versions of the .NET framework you should expand these and include a backing store. Read more: BlackWasp
As an example, consider the code below. This defines a class, named "PaymentTerms", that holds the details required to calculate the monthly payments for a loan. The class includes three properties that define the price of an item being purchased, the deposit being paid and the term of the agreement. The GetMonthlyPayment method calculates the monthly fees using a PaymentCalculator object. This calculator is a dependency of PaymentTerms and is initialised when an object is instantiated.
NB: The operation of the PaymentCalculator class has been oversimplified but this is unimportant for the subject of this article. The properties are defined using C# 3.0 automatically implemented property syntax. For earlier versions of the .NET framework you should expand these and include a backing store. Read more: BlackWasp
CryptoLicensing For MFC v2010 R2
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CryptoLicensing for MFC provides a robust, yet easy way to add licensing, copy-protection and activation capabilities to your MFC, ATL or C++ applications, libraries, components and controls. CryptoLicensing for MFC uses the latest military strength, state-of-the-art cryptographic technology to ensure that your software and intellectual property is protected. Read more: LogicNP software
Example Upload & Resize Images in ASP.NET MVC
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Today I write Controller used Upload & Resize Images in ASP.NET MVCStep One : I create Controller used to Upload and display photos uploaded listHere this code :
public ActionResult UploadImage()
{
ViewData["Message"] = "Welcome to GeeksShip.com! Example Upload & Resize Images";
const string folderThumbPath = "/Content/StoredImages/Thumbs/"; var directoryThumbs = new DirectoryInfo(Server.MapPath(folderThumbPath)); var listImages = directoryThumbs.GetFiles().Select(file => file.Name).ToList();
ViewData["listImages"] = listImages;
return View("/Views/Home/UploadImage.aspx");
}Step Two: I create Controller used to save image upload and resize it
Here this code:[AcceptVerbs(HttpVerbs.Post)]
public ActionResult UploadImage(string str)
{
if (ModelState.IsValid)
{
if (Request.Files != null)
{
var posted = Request.Files["uploadFile"];
if (posted.FileName != "")
{
const string pathStoredImage = "/Content/StoredImages/Images/";
const string pathStoredThumbs = "/Content/StoredImages/Thumbs/";
var imageName = Path.GetFileName(posted.FileName);
var filePath = pathStoredImage + imageName; posted.SaveAs(Server.MapPath(filePath));
ResizeImage(filePath, 150); ViewData["message"] = ViewData["message"] + "<br >" +
"Đã upload <b>" + posted.FileName +"</b> hình ảnh thành công!"; }
} }
return RedirectToAction("UploadImage");
}Read more: Geeks Ship
public ActionResult UploadImage()
{
ViewData["Message"] = "Welcome to GeeksShip.com! Example Upload & Resize Images";
const string folderThumbPath = "/Content/StoredImages/Thumbs/"; var directoryThumbs = new DirectoryInfo(Server.MapPath(folderThumbPath)); var listImages = directoryThumbs.GetFiles().Select(file => file.Name).ToList();
ViewData["listImages"] = listImages;
return View("/Views/Home/UploadImage.aspx");
}Step Two: I create Controller used to save image upload and resize it
Here this code:[AcceptVerbs(HttpVerbs.Post)]
public ActionResult UploadImage(string str)
{
if (ModelState.IsValid)
{
if (Request.Files != null)
{
var posted = Request.Files["uploadFile"];
if (posted.FileName != "")
{
const string pathStoredImage = "/Content/StoredImages/Images/";
const string pathStoredThumbs = "/Content/StoredImages/Thumbs/";
var imageName = Path.GetFileName(posted.FileName);
var filePath = pathStoredImage + imageName; posted.SaveAs(Server.MapPath(filePath));
ResizeImage(filePath, 150); ViewData["message"] = ViewData["message"] + "<br >" +
"Đã upload <b>" + posted.FileName +"</b> hình ảnh thành công!"; }
} }
return RedirectToAction("UploadImage");
}Read more: Geeks Ship
Sandcastle that is. Here’s a 26 page article on doing just that…
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The most effective way to document .NET code so that others can understand it and use it, is to use XML Documentation and Sandcastle. It isn't that easy. Michael Sirens produces the easy guide to the process that Microsoft never managed, and introduces several applications that help.
Read more: Greg's Cool [Insert Clever Name] of the Day
Contents
- XML Documentation Comments: First Look.
- Doc-Comment Elements.
- Automate Your Doc-Comment Creation.
- The Problem of Documentation Generation.
- Sandcastle Help File Builder
- Running Sandcastle Help File Builder
- Sandcastle Help File Builder Configuration: First Look.
- Rules for Embedding HTML..
- Sandcastle for NDoc Users.
- Sandcastle Considerations.
- Browser Flexibility.
- Storage Requirements.
- Performance and Inheritance.
- Issues Deploying on Linux/Unix.
- Disambiguating and Resolving <see> References.
- Verbosity of <see> Elements.
- Referencing Generic Types in <see> Elements.
- Displaying Sample Code.
- Style Choices and Code Display Issues.
- Using Favicons in Your Generated Web Site.
- Rendering Issue with Unresolved Links.
- File Naming Conventions.
- Specifying Debug or Release Configuration.
- Finding What You Missed.
- Documenting Namespaces.
- Conclusion.
Read more: Greg's Cool [Insert Clever Name] of the Day
Custom ValidationSummary with Data Form - Silverlight 4
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IntroductionThanks to all members.
I have found many solutions for my issues from codeproject community and it's time for me to contribute!
In this article I'm explaining how we can implement custom Validation Summary by hiding default validation summary of data form. BackgroundFollowing are the solutions I'm focusing:
Read more: Codeproject
I have found many solutions for my issues from codeproject community and it's time for me to contribute!
In this article I'm explaining how we can implement custom Validation Summary by hiding default validation summary of data form. BackgroundFollowing are the solutions I'm focusing:
- MVVM implementation with OOD principles.
- Domain layer design clues.
- Custom Validation Summary.
- Validation error's consistency.
Read more: Codeproject
Free MvcCaptcha library is available
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Initial release of Free ASP.NET MVC Captcha library is available here:http://www.smartsoftwarebits.com/mvccaptcha This small customizable library delivers:HtmlHelper extension method (MvcCaptcha) to be used in Views
Captcha validation attribute (ValidateMvcCaptcha) to be used in Models
MvcCaptcha controller to generate captcha's images
You are welcome to contribute to this project your ideas and bits. Read more: ASP .NET Forum
Read more: MvcCaptcha
Captcha validation attribute (ValidateMvcCaptcha) to be used in Models
MvcCaptcha controller to generate captcha's images
You are welcome to contribute to this project your ideas and bits. Read more: ASP .NET Forum
Read more: MvcCaptcha
Introducing the Lync Controls SDK
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Microsoft today announced Lync Server 2010 as the official name for Communications Server “14”. A release candidate (build 7457) is also available for download at microsoft.com. Lync includes a new SDK called the Lync Controls SDK that includes WPF and Silverlight controls that developers can use to integrate Microsoft Lync (Communicator) functionality into their applications. This includes controls for presence, contact lists, search, etc. In this blog post, you’ll see some of the controls that are a part of the Lync Controls SDK. I’ll focus on the presence and contact list controls.Displaying PresenceThe PresenceIndicator control is used to display the presence of the contact specified in its Source property. You can set this value in code behind, directly in XAML, or via binding. <controls:PresenceIndicator Source="sip:georged@fabrikam.com" />Read more: Clarity Consulting
Visual Studio Add-in Library
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IntroductionIt has been a long time I wanted to natively integrate all our tools into Visual Studio, but due to lack of time and desire, I always thought "OK, I'll see this later" and nothing was done... So this summer, I started to dig the Visual Studio plug-in APIs (EnvDTE), and while browsing CodeProject and more generally the Web, I discovered that in fact no one has a clear and simple solution to create add-ins for Visual Studio. For older versions, people where talking about packages and pure COM calls; for new ones (VS2005+), the Add-in Project template was used, and each article I read had its own implementation and limitation. More, even the MS documentation wasn't clear, giving sometimes samples with different implementations for the same requirement. So, this library is a compilation of practices (that work!) that I picked around and reorganized to simplify the creation of add-ins and the associated menu items/commands. Using the codeFirst of all .. create a new plug-in project like in figure 1 (click Next until the end)!Read more: Codeproject
Burnbit turns just about any download into a torrent
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Ever found an awesome download on the Web and thought, "Man, why don't the offer a torrent download?!" It's so much nicer pulling down Ubuntu ISOs at 690K per second via µTorrent instead of 250K or so via HTTP. A newly-launched service called Burnbit is set to give Web downloads a much-needed punch in the face. Head over to their website, drop the URL to an HTTP download in the blank, and Burnbit automatically creates a torrent file and begins seeding. Burnbit's torrent page shows detailed torrent data as well, including the number of seeders and leechers, health, and MD5 hash. Read more: Downloadsquad
‘Graph Your Inbox’: A Side Of Gmail You’ve (Probably) Never Seen Before
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HDCP 'master key' supposedly released, unlocks HDTV copy protection permanently
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Just as the MPAA is preparing to offer movies to customers at home while they're still in theaters by limiting playback to DRM-protected digital outputs only, the HDCP protocol they rely on may have been cracked wide open. All devices that support HDCP, like Blu-ray players, set-top boxes and displays with HDMI inputs, have their own set of keys to encrypt and decrypt protected data and if keys for a particular device are compromised, they can be revoked by content released in the future which will then refuse to play. Now, posts have been floating around on Twitter about a supposed "master key" which renders that protection unusable since it allows anyone to create their own source and sink keys. Who discovered this and by what technique isn't immediately clear, but as early as 2001 security researcher Niels Ferguson proposed that it could be easily revealed by knowing the keys of less than 50 different devices. Read more: Engadget
Cybercriminals Create 57,000 Fake Sites Each Week
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Monday, September 13, 2010
In a recent investigation, it was discovered that cybercriminals are creating 57,000 new 'fake' websites each week looking to imitate and exploit approximately 375 high-profile brands. eBay and Western Union were the most targeted brands, making up 44 percent of exploited brands discovered. Visa, Amazon, Bank of America and PayPal also heavily targeted by cybercriminals. Banks comprise the majority of fake websites by far with 65 percent of the total. Online stores and auction sites came in at 27 percent, with eBay taking the spot as the No. 1 most targeted brand on the Web today Read more: Slashdot
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