Sunday, December 21, 2008

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What Is a Network Name?

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Did you know a network name is a text string that devices use to reference a particular computer network? These strings are, strictly speaking, separate from the names of individual network devices and the addresses they use to identify each other. However, several different forms of network naming exist and it's fairly common (even in the IT world) for people to blur the distinction between computer and network names in casual conversation.
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Sunday, December 21, 2008

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Cannot Connect to Windows Update

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With PCs running Windows, it's important to keep their software up to date with the latest patches. Microsoft's Windows Update tool helps you find the newest versions of software and install them via the Internet. Unfortunately, your PC might suddenly start failing to connect to the Windows Update servers, even if your home network and Internet connection are working fine otherwise. Why? Follow the discussion on our message board to watch our members walk through the typical troubleshooting steps.
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Sunday, December 21, 2008

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Buffalo WZR2-G300N Wireless-N Nfiniti Router

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The WZR2-G300N is Buffalo Technology's mainstream Wireless-N broadband router rated at 300 Mbps. Many agree this product has excellent performance. Unfortunately, an ongoing U.S. Patent dispute over use of certain Wi-Fi technology led to a court order in mid-2007 prohibiting Buffalo from selling these routers in North America. With a new development in the legal proceedings that occurred this month, look for Buffalo to resume sales of the WZR2-G300N very soon.
More - Buffalo WZR2-G300N Wireless-N Nfiniti Router, from Buffalo Technology (currently featuring a legal status update)
See also - Top 802.11n Wireless Routers
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Sunday, December 21, 2008

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What is (Wireless / Computer) Networking?

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Question: What is (Wireless / Computer) Networking?

Answer: In the world of computers, networking is the practice of linking two or more computing devices together for the purpose of sharing data. Networks are built with a mix of computer hardware and computer software.

Area Networks

Networks can be categorized in several different ways. One approach defines the type of network according to the geographic area it spans. Local area networks (LANs), for example, typically reach across a single home, whereas wide area networks (WANs), reach across cities, states, or even across the world. The Internet is the world's largest public WAN.

Network Design

Computer networks also differ in their design. The two types of high-level network design are called client-server and peer-to-peer. Client-server networks feature centralized server computers that store email, Web pages, files and or applications. On a peer-to-peer network, conversely, all computers tend to support the same functions. Client-server networks are much more common in business and peer-to-peer networks much more common in homes.

A network topology represents its layout or structure from the point of view of data flow. In so-called bus networks, for example, all of the computers share and communicate across one common conduit, whereas in a star network, all data flows through one centralized device. Common types of network topologies include bus, star, ring and mesh.

Network Protocols

In networking, the communication language used by computer devices is called the protocol. Yet another way to classify computer networks is by the set of protocols they support. Networks often implement multiple protocols to support specific applications. Popular protocols include TCP/IP, the most common protocol found on the Internet and in home networks.

Wired vs Wireless Networking

Many of the same network protocols, like TCP/IP, work in both wired and wireless networks. Networks with Ethernet cables predominated in businesses, schools, and homes for several decades. Recently, however, wireless networking alternatives have emerged as the premier technology for building new computer networks.


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Sunday, December 21, 2008

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Troubleshoot Windows Server

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You can troubleshoot Windows Server issues by using documentation about guides, events, and errors.

Learn more:

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Sunday, December 21, 2008

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Install Server Roles with Server Manager

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Server Manager in Windows Server 2008 allows you to install, configure, and manage Windows components, such as server roles, role services, and features.

noteNote
Server Manager replaces several features included with Windows Server 2003, including Manage Your Server, Configure Your Server, and Add or Remove Windows Components.

Server Manager provides a single source for managing the identity and system information of a server, displaying server status, identifying problems with server role configurations, and managing all roles installed on the server.

Learn more:

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Sunday, December 21, 2008

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What's New in Windows Server

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Windows Server 2008 provides new features and other changes in functionality from the Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 (SP1) family of operating systems.

Learn more:

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Sunday, December 21, 2008

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Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Beta

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The articles below are specific to the Beta release of Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2. You can use this information to evaluate and deploy Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Beta.

For information about Windows Server 2008, see Windows Server 2008.

To download Windows Server 2008 SP2 Beta, see Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2

Product Evaluation

Frequently Asked Questions: Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Beta and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Beta

This article provides answers to some of the most common questions about the Beta release of Windows Server 2008 SP2 and Windows Vista SP2.

Notable Changes in Windows Server 2008 SP2 Beta and Windows Vista SP2 Beta

This document describes the notable changes made to the Beta release of Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista in Service Pack 2, which were focused on addressing specific reliability, performance, and compatibility issues, supporting new types of hardware, and adding support for several emerging standards, and lists all the hot fixes and security updates included in this service pack.

Windows Vista SP2 Beta and Windows Server 2008 SP2 BetaTest Focus Guide

This guide provides scenarios for testing and evaluating the changes in Windows Vista SP2 Beta and Windows Server 2008 SP2 Beta.

Getting Started

Release Notes for this Beta Release of Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2

These release notes address late-breaking issues and information related to Windows Server 2008 SP2 Beta.

Hotfixes and Security Updates in Windows Server 2008 SP2 Beta and Windows Vista SP2 Beta

This document lists all the hotfixes and security updates included in Beta release of Windows Server 2008 SP2 and Windows Vista SP2.

Installing this Beta Release of Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 2

This document provides information about installing the Windows Server® 2008 operating system with Service Pack 2 (SP2). It also provides information that you can use to troubleshoot problems that may occur during the installation.

Deployment

Windows Server 2008 SP2 Deployment Guide

This guide includes technical information, procedures, and recommendations for deploying Windows Server 2008 SP2 Beta in a business or corporate environment.

See Also

Other Resources

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Sunday, December 21, 2008

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Installing an Additional Windows Server 2008 Domain Controller by Using an Answer file

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The answer file that you use to create a new domain controller must have the replica options specified. Use the following procedure to create the answer file.

Administrative credentials

To perform this procedure, you can use any account that has Read and Write privileges for the text editor application.

To create an answer file for installing a new domain controller
  1. Open Notepad or any text editor.

  2. On the first line, type [DCINSTALL], and then press ENTER.

  3. Create the following entries, one entry on each line. These options are the minimum options that are required for a new domain controller installation with DNS and the global catalog installed and configured automatically. For a complete list of unattended installation options, including default values, allowed values, and descriptions, see Promotion Operation.

    UserName=

    UserDomain=

    Password=

    ReplicaOrNewDomain=replica

    ReplicaDomainDNSName=

    DatabasePath=

    LogPath=

    SYSVOLPath=

    InstallDNS=yes

    ConfirmGC=yes

    SafeModeAdminPassword=

    RebootOnCompletion=yes

  4. Save the answer file to the location on the installation server from which it is to be called by Dcpromo, or save the file to a network share or removable media for distribution.

After you create the answer file, use the following procedure to perform the unattended installation. Use this procedure to install AD DS on either a full installation of Windows Server 2008 or a Server Core installation of Windows Server 2008.

Administrative credentials

To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Domain Admins group.

To install a new domain controller by using an answer file
  • At the command prompt, type the following, and then press ENTER:

    dcpromo /unattend:"path to the answer file"

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Sunday, December 21, 2008

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Installing an Additional Windows Server 2008 Domain Controller by Using the Command Line

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Use the following procedure to perform an unattended installation of a new domain controller from the command line. For a complete list of unattended installation options, including default values, allowed values, and descriptions, type dcpromo /?:Promotion at a command prompt, or see Promotion Operation.

Administrative credentials

To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Domain Admins group.

To install a new domain controller by entering unattended installation parameters at the command line
  1. At a command prompt, type the following, and then press ENTER:

    dcpromo /unattend /unattendOption:value /unattendOption:value ...

    Where

    • unattendOption is an option in the Promotion Operation table. Separate each option:value pair with a space.
    • value is the configuration instruction for the option.

    The following example creates an additional domain controller with the global catalog and installs and configures DNS Server service:

    dcpromo /unattend /InstallDns:yes /confirmGC:yes /replicaOrNewDomain:replica /replicaDomainDNSName: contoso.com/databasePath:"e:\ntds" /logPath:"e:\ntdslogs" /sysvolpath:"g:\sysvol" /safeModeAdminPassword:FH#3573.cK /rebootOnCompletion:yes

  2. When you have typed all the options that are required to create the additional domain controller, press ENTER.

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Sunday, December 21, 2008

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Installing an Additional Windows Server 2008 Domain Controller by Using the Windows Interface

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The Windows interface provides two wizards that guide you through the AD DS installation process. The first wizard is the Add Roles Wizard, which you can access in Server Manager. The second wizard is the Active Directory Domain Services Installation Wizard, which you can access in the following ways:

  • When you complete the Add Roles Wizard, click the link to launch the Active Directory Domain Services Installation Wizard.
  • Click Start, click Run, type dcpromo.exe, and then click OK.

If you use the advanced options in the Active Directory Domain Services Installation Wizard, you can control how AD DS is installed on the server, either by IFM or by replication:

  • IFM: You can provide a location for installation media that you have created with Ntdsutil.exe or that you have restored from a backup of a similar domain controller in the same domain. If you create the installation media by using Ntdsutil, you have the option to create secure installation media for an RODC. In this case, ntdsutil removes cached secrets (such as passwords) from the installation media.
  • Replication: You can specify a domain controller in the domain from which to replicate AD DS.

Administrative credentials

To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Domain Admins group in the domain that is being installed.

To install a domain controller in an existing domain by using the Windows interface
  1. Click Start and then click Server Manager.

  2. In Roles Summary, click Add Roles.

  3. If necessary, review the information on the Before You Begin page and then click Next.

  4. On the Select Server Roles page, click the Active Directory Domain Services check box, and then click Next.

  5. If necessary, review the information on the Active Directory Domain Services page and then click Next.

  6. On the Confirm Installation Selections page, click Install.

  7. On the Installation Results page, click Close this wizard and launch the Active Directory Domain Services Installation Wizard (dcpromo.exe).

  8. On the Welcome to the Active Directory Domain Services Installation Wizard page, click Next.

    If you want to install from media, identify the source domain controller for AD DS replication, or specify the Password Replication Policy for an RODC as part of the installation of the additional domain controller, select Use advanced mode installation.

  9. On the Operating System Compatibility page, review the warning about the default security settings for Windows Server 2008 domain controllers and then click Next.

  10. On the Choose a Deployment Configuration page, click Existing forest, click Add a domain controller to an existing domain, and then click Next.

  11. On the Network Credentials page, type the name of any existing domain in the forest where you plan to install the additional domain controller. Under Specify the account credentials to use to perform the installation, click My current logged on credentials or click Alternate credentials, and then click Set. In the Windows Security dialog box, provide the user name and password for an account that can install the additional domain controller. To install an additional domain controller, you must be a member of the Enterprise Admins group or the Domain Admins group. When you are finished providing credentials, click Next.

  12. On the Select a Domain page, select the domain of the new domain controller, and then click Next.

  13. On the Select a Site page, select a site from the list or select the option to install the domain controller in the site that corresponds to its IP address, and then click Next.

  14. On the Additional Domain Controller Options page, make the following selections, and then click Next:

    • DNS server: This option is selected by default so that your domain controller can function as a DNS server. If you do not want the domain controller to be a DNS server, clear this option.
      noteNote
      If you select the option to install DNS server, you might receive a message that indicates that a DNS delegation for the DNS server could not be created and that you should manually create a DNS delegation to the DNS server to ensure reliable name resolution. If you are installing an additional domain controller in either the forest root domain or a tree root domain, you do not need to create the DNS delegation. In this case, click Yes and disregard the message.
    • Global Catalog: This option is selected by default. It adds the global catalog, read-only directory partitions to the domain controller, and it enables global catalog search functionality.
    • Read-only domain controller. This option is not selected by default. It makes the additional domain controller read only.
  15. If you selected Use advanced mode installation on the Welcome page, the Install from Media page appears. You can provide the location of installation media to be used to create the domain controller and configure AD DS, or you can have all of the replication done over the network. Note that some data will be replicated over the network even if you install from media. For information about using this method to install the domain controller, see Installing AD DS from Media.

  16. If you selected Use advanced mode installation on the Welcome page, the Source Domain Controller page appears. Click Let the wizard choose an appropriate domain controller or click Use this specific domain controller to specify a domain controller that you want to provide as a source for replication to create the new domain controller, and then click Next. If you do not choose to install from media, all data will be replicated from this source domain controller.

  17. On the Location for Database, Log Files, and SYSVOL page, type or browse to the volume and folder locations for the database file, the directory service log files, and the system volume (SYSVOL) files, and then click Next.

    Windows Server Backup backs up the directory service by volume. For backup and recovery efficiency, store these files on separate volumes that do not contain applications or other nondirectory files.

  18. On the Directory Services Restore Mode Administrator Password page, type and confirm the restore mode password, and then click Next. This password must be used to start AD DS in Directory Service Restore Mode for tasks that must be performed offline.

  19. On the Summary page, review your selections. Click Back to change any selections, if necessary.

    To save the settings that you have selected to an answer file that you can use to automate subsequent AD DS operations, click Export settings. Type the name for your answer file, and then click Save.

    When you are sure that your selections are accurate, click Next to install AD DS.

  20. On the Completing the Active Directory Domain Services Installation Wizard page, click Finish.

  21. You can either select the Reboot on completion check box to have the server restart automatically or you can restart the server to complete the AD DS installation when you are prompted to do so.

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Sunday, December 21, 2008

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Installing an Additional Windows Server 2008 Domain Controller

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If you are installing an additional Windows Server 2008 domain controller in a Windows Server 2008 forest, you do not have to prepare the forest before you begin the installation. However, if the additional domain controller that you are installing is the first Windows Server 2008 domain controller in an existing Windows Server 2003 or Windows 2000 Server domain, ensure that the following tasks are completed:

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Sunday, December 21, 2008

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3ds MAX

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This tutorial is complex from the point of view of modeling, because the user will pass thorough different techniques like surface tools(spline modeling), mesh edit (polygonal modeling), mesh smooth. This tutorial is not recommended to beginners, although they will learn some useful tricks from here. The tutorial is entirely conceived in 3D Studio Max 3.0 but is compatible with newer versions.

The first thing is to find some blueprints representing a car. I chose the blueprints of a Renault Laguna. The blueprints have to represent the car from the front, left or right, from top and eventually from behind. Useful are images from perspective (real pictures). I want to say, although I had used the Laguna blueprints, I didn't intend to make a Laguna car, I only used them only for primary mesh. The rest is my imagination :) After you found the blueprints, make sure they are in different colors from the max colors (I modified my blueprints in Photoshop because they were black and white). After that you will create 3 boxes(with the same dimension as the blueprints)and place the blueprints on them. Is very important to align the 3 boxes in the scene that the top blueprint aligns properly with the front and the right just like in the image:

Now will trace the splines. We will make a network of splines after the contours of the car. Will trace from the right(or left) view the important lines of the car. After that, here comes the difficult part of aligning them after the other blueprints (top, face). We can correct ourselves, looking in Perspective. Don't forget that will only build one half of a car, then we will mirror and attach the other part:

After that will have to create additional splines to create surfaces of 3 or 4 splines. We do that, because will use the Surface modifier that will create a patch where it finds 3 or 4 splines intersecting each other .

After finishing the spline network, we make sure that it doesn't have any holes (if we apply Surface). Them will mirror the networks and weld the vertexes at the middle.
To better see what we models, we must make a reference of the spline network and apply to the reference the surface modifier (the original object remains without surface). This way, modifying the original spline network we will se real time in the viewport the smoothed surface reference modified as well.


Now will make the air hole. We create an ellipse and will modified it like in the image:

We cut the splines that are interceding with the ellipse and we create a copy of the ellipse and we move it to the interior like in the image


After we are sure that the spline network is fine, we applied the Surface modifier with the step 1 (or ventualy 0). We use step 1because next comes a edit mesh modifier(for the details) and it's best to have minimum faces to work with.

Next is the rear bumper. We applied edit mesh like in the bottom image:

After we select the rear faces we extrude them. Next will detach the rear end (bumper) for later editing.

We also extrude the window faces but in the following way: we select the windows, them extrude with a negative value (-1) then we extrude the result(it's already selected) with a positive value (+1). We are careful if we select all the normals must be selected for the local not for the group.

We do the same thing for the head lights. We select the faces, them extrude them both ways (e.g.: -1.5,+1.5).

The fog lights : we select the vertexes under the head lights and chamfer them. After that, we select the faces that are resulting and extrude them deep down ( e.g.: -5).

To check everything is all right we apply a mesh smooth with 3 iterations.

If everything is OK, we reduce the iterations from 3 to 1. At subobject (in mesh smooth) we chose vertex and select the vertices from the corners of the windows like this:

After selection we modify the weight of the vertexes from 1 to 2 or 3 because we don't wont the corners of the windows to look to rounded. Next will take care of the protection bumper from the car doors. We select a row of edges and apply on them chamfer. We select the faces that resulted and applied chamfer (-1) first and them (+2) -to give the sensation of bump. Don't forget to set the id of the faces to other material. The same goes for the faces of the windows and the headlights and the rear lights

The same goes for the front and rear bumper bar.

To give the light depth we select the headlights faces then we copy those faces, next we extrude them ( with a negative value). Then we detach the new faces that just formed:

The headlights mirrors are made from 2 spheres and a cylinder. The firs sphere is larger. We apply on it a edit mesh and select one of the top vertex (we have soft selection on), then we move the vertex inside the sphere until we have the shape of a concave mirror. Then we clone the objects (like in the image) and place them inside the headlights. We also create a dividing object between the signaling light and the rest of the lights.

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Next we create the holes for the door handles : we chamfer an edge then extrude the resulting faces:

Next select the faces like in the image below and use the bevel modifier (from edit mesh):

Next we apply a meshsmooth with 2 iterations

Now comes the part of creating the contours of the windows, the door, etc... We will create these using splines. In the left view(or right) we create splines after the shapes of the windows and door.

We don't have to align the splines in other viewports like we did in the first part of the tutorial because we'll use a utility that will overlay the mesh.

For overlaying the splines on top of the mesh, will use the glue utility (you can download it free from http://www.itoosoft.com/english/freeplugins.html)

After that will have the splines glued to the mesh:

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Sunday, December 21, 2008

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Visual Basic .NET Forms

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In the Visual Basic NET design time environment, the first thing to concentrate on is that strange, big square in the top left. That's called a form. It's actually the pretty bit of your programme, the part that others will see when they launch your masterpiece. Granted, it doesn't look too attractive at the moment, but you'll soon discover ways to lick it into shape.

To run the form, try this:

  • From the menu bar, click Debug
  • From the drop down menu, click Start
  • Alternatively, press the F5 key on your keyboard
  • Your programme is launched

Congratulations! You have now created your very first programme. It should look like this:


Click the Red X on the form to stop it from running. You will then be returned to the software environment.

If you compare the first form with the one above, you'll see that they look very similar. But the one above is actually a real programme, something you could package and sell to unsuspecting village idiots

So what's going on? Why the two different views? Well, Visual Basic has two distinct environments, a Design environment and a Debug environment. Design Time is where you get to play about with the form, spruce it up, add textboxes, and buttons, and labels (and code, of course ); Debug is where you can test your programme and see how well it performs. Or doesn't perform, as is usually the case.

But don't worry about the terminology, for the time being. Just be aware that there's a two step process to VB programming: designing and debugging.

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Sunday, December 21, 2008

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Getting Started with Visual Basic .NET

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Launch your Visual Basic .NET or Visual Studio software. When the software first loads, you'll see a screen something like this one:

Click here to see the image in a new popup window (86K)

There's a lot happening on the start page. But basically, this is where you can start a new project, or open an existing one. The first Tab, Projects, is selected. At the moment, the area labelled "Open an Existing Project" is blank. This is what you'll see when you run the software for the first time (because you haven't created a project yet). When you create a project, the Name you gave it will be displayed on this page, as a hyperlink. Clicking the link will open the project.

At the bottom of the screen, there are two buttons: "New Project" and "Open Project". To get started, click the "New Project" button. When you do, you'll see this dialogue box appear:


As a beginner, you'll normally want the option selected: "Windows Application", in the "Visual Basic Projects" folder. This means that you're going to be designing a programme to run on a computer running the Microsoft Windows operating system.

If you look in the Name textbox at the bottom, you'll see it says "WindowsApplication1". This is the default name for your projects. It's not a good idea to keep this name. After all, you don't want all of your projects to be called "WindowsApplication1", "WindowsApplication2", etc. So click inside this textbox and change this Name to the following:

My First Project

Keep the Location the same as the default. This is a folder inside of your "My Documents" folder called "Visual Studio Projects". A new folder will then be created for you, and its name will be the one you typed in the "Name" textbox. All of your files for your first project are then saved in this folder.

Click the OK button, and the Visual Basic NET design time environment will open. It will look like the following (the 2008 edition is just the same):

Click here to see the image in a new popup window (28K)

That's a very daunting piece of software, hey? Well, don't worry. We'll break it down bit by bit in the next few sections, and pretty soon you'll be zipping your way around it like a pro!

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Sunday, December 21, 2008

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Introduction to RSS

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Website design, and the way it is programmed has been evolving over the years to accommodate the advances in technology, software, and internet speeds. One thing to come out of this is the separation of content and design. If you look at a modern website and the way it is coded you will see that the content is contained in blocks that define what content is in that block. Then using CSS, the designer will apply a design and style to the content and the blocks that contain the content. I go into more detail of the benefits of using this model in my article Why use CSS?. One technology to come out of this new way of programming is RSS (Really Simple Syndication).

RSS on the most basic level is a file on the website that only contains the content and is standardized in the way it names the content blocks and what content is provided. This way every website using RSS will have the title of the article in a block named “title”, the categories in blocks named “category”, and so on. This provides the ability to have applications that take this content and show it to you in a consistent way no matter what website it came from.

That isn’t the biggest advantage to using RSS though. The main reason people use RSS is that their RSS application will notify them when there is a new article posted. The type of notification they recieve is their choice. Add that to the consistent interface browsing across multiple websites and it greatly increases the amount of sites you can read in one sitting and removes the annoyance of not knowing if a site has anything new or not.

What programs are out there that have RSS support? The most unobtrusive way to use RSS is to have it integrated into your web browser. Internet Explorer 7 and newer, Firefox, Safari, and Flock are a few of the web browsers that have integrated RSS support that you may not have used before. There are also standalone applications for reading RSS feeds. FeedDemon for Windows and NetNewsWire for Mac are great examples of standalone RSS readers. My personal favorite is Google Reader. Google Reader is a website that allows you to add your RSS feeds just like a standalone RSS reader, but add the functionality of being able to access and update your feeds on any computer that has internet. Each option has it’s ups and downs and is worth checking out to find what your personal preference is.

Kurt
Internet Marketing Group

Other Topics of Interest:
Website Design Cedar Rapids

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Sunday, December 21, 2008

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Visual Studio .NET Tips and Tricks Book

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Minh T. Nguyen has written a book entitled Visual Studio .NET Tips and Tricks and its really cool. The book covers a ton of useful features in VS.NET 2002, 2003 and 2005. The style of the book is very easy to read as its broken into many little chunks. The book works well as a quick time filler when you're waiting for your overused pc to respond. ReadMore...

Sunday, December 21, 2008

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The Chef programming language

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I have no idea how to describe the Chef programing language to you, but here is its Hello World program, in the form of a souffle:

Ingredients.
72 g haricot beans
101 eggs
108 g lard
111 cups oil
32 zucchinis
119 ml water
114 g red salmon
100 g dijon mustard
33 potatoes

Method.
Put potatoes into the mixing bowl. Put dijon mustard into the mixing bowl. Put lard into the mixing bowl. Put red salmon into the mixing bowl. Put oil into the mixing bowl. Put water into the mixing bowl. Put zucchinis into the mixing bowl. Put oil into the mixing bowl. Put lard into the mixing bowl. Put lard into the mixing bowl. Put eggs into the mixing bowl. Put haricot beans into the mixing bowl. Liquefy contents of the mixing bowl. Pour contents of the mixing bowl into the baking dish.

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Sunday, December 21, 2008

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Script# Programming in the Large

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Yesterday's PDC keynote featured a number of interesting products and technologies, such as Office 14 and Live Services, that today involve fairly large-scale (code size, team size and project length) Ajax development. The demos were just amazing - Kudos to the product teams!

Behind the scenes, on the engineering front, Script# provided the toolset and script authoring model. I've been working with both teams for quite a while now, and am really excited to be able to finally share these particular uses now that they are public (since to be honest, I was myself quite pleasantly surprised to see the model of compiling down to script scale up in this manner).

Live Mesh features an online desktop experience within the browser to enable remotely accessing files from any browser. The Live Framework exposes the underlying platform to .NET applications and script applications alike. The script framework portion of the SDK, like the UI, is based on Script#. The documentation for this framework on msdn was built from doc-comments in the originating c# code, which double up to enable script intellisense in Visual Studio.

Next in the keynote was a quick peek at what is to come in a web-ified Office 14. Some of the highlights included Excel, OneNote, and the Ribbon interface. These apps bring document sharing and collaboration to a whole new level. What is really cool is the live editing and continual sync'ing with the actual good-old, full-fidelity Office document file on the server or with another concurrent editing session in the full-blown desktop Office suite. These apps build on top of the ASP.NET Ajax framework, and were for the most part coded in c# and converted to javascript using script#.

The devs clearly recognized the value from using standard .NET tools and C# for engineering the thousands of lines of script and Ajax code that power these great consumer and developer experiences.

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Sunday, December 21, 2008

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If programming languages were religions...

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"If programming languages were religions"
(Inspired by "If programming languages were cars")


C would be Judaism - it's old and restrictive, but most of the world is familiar with its laws and respects them. The catch is, you can't convert into it - you're either into it from the start, or you will think that it's insanity. Also, when things go wrong, many people are willing to blame the problems of the world on it.

Java would be Fundamentalist Christianity - it's theoretically based on C, but it voids so many of the old laws that it doesn't feel like the original at all. Instead, it adds its own set of rigid rules, which its followers believe to be far superior to the original. Not only are they certain that it's the best language in the world, but they're willing to burn those who disagree at the stake.

PHP would be Cafeteria Christianity - Fights with Java for the web market. It draws a few concepts from C and Java, but only those that it really likes. Maybe it's not as coherent as other languages, but at least it leaves you with much more freedom and ostensibly keeps the core idea of the whole thing. Also, the whole concept of "goto hell" was abandoned.

C++ would be Islam - It takes C and not only keeps all its laws, but adds a very complex new set of laws on top of it. It's so versatile that it can be used to be the foundation of anything, from great atrocities to beautiful works of art. Its followers are convinced that it is the ultimate universal language, and may be angered by those who disagree. Also, if you insult it or its founder, you'll probably be threatened with death by more radical followers.

C# would be Mormonism - At first glance, it's the same as Java, but at a closer look you realize that it's controlled by a single corporation (which many Java followers believe to be evil), and that many theological concepts are quite different. You suspect that it'd probably be nice, if only all the followers of Java wouldn't discriminate so much against you for following it.

Lisp would be Zen Buddhism - There is no syntax, there is no centralization of dogma, there are no deities to worship. The entire universe is there at your reach - if only you are enlightened enough to grasp it. Some say that it's not a language at all; others say that it's the only language that makes sense.

Haskell would be Taoism - It is so different from other languages that many people don't understand how can anyone use it to produce anything useful. Its followers believe that it's the true path to wisdom, but that wisdom is beyond the grasp of most mortals.

Erlang would be Hinduism - It's another strange language that doesn't look like it could be used for anything, but unlike most other modern languages, it's built around the concept of multiple simultaneous deities.

Perl would be Voodoo - An incomprehensible series of arcane incantations that involve the blood of goats and permanently corrupt your soul. Often used when your boss requires you to do an urgent task at 21:00 on friday night.

Lua would be Wicca - A pantheistic language that can easily be adapted for different cultures and locations. Its code is very liberal, and allows for the use of techniques that might be described as magical by those used to more traditional languages. It has a strong connection to the moon.

Ruby would be Neo-Paganism - A mixture of different languages and ideas that was beaten together into something that might be identified as a language. Its adherents are growing fast, and although most people look at them suspiciously, they are mostly well-meaning people with no intention of harming anyone.

Python would be Humanism: It's simple, unrestrictive, and all you need to follow it is common sense. Many of the followers claim to feel relieved from all the burden imposed by other languages, and that they have rediscovered the joy of programming. There are some who say that it is a form of pseudo-code.

COBOL would be Ancient Paganism - There was once a time when it ruled over a vast region and was important, but nowadays it's almost dead, for the good of us all. Although many were scarred by the rituals demanded by its deities, there are some who insist on keeping it alive even today.

APL would be Scientology - There are many people who claim to follow it, but you've always suspected that it's a huge and elaborate prank that got out of control.

LOLCODE would be Pastafarianism - An esoteric, Internet-born belief that nobody really takes seriously, despite all the efforts to develop and spread it.

Visual Basic would be Satanism - Except that you don't REALLY need to sell your soul to be a Satanist...

Thanks to jfs and other people on #aegisub for the suggestions. Keep in mind, this list is a joke, and is not meant to offend anyone. Also, if you're a Muslim, please don't kill me. ;)

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