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  • CodePlex Daily Summary for Wednesday, October 31, 2012

    CodePlex Daily Summary for Wednesday, October 31, 2012Popular ReleasesDevpad: 4.25: Whats new for Devpad 4.25: New Theme support New Export Wordpress Minor Bug Fix's, improvements and speed upsAssaultCube Reloaded: 2.5.5: Linux has Ubuntu 11.10 32-bit precompiled binaries and Ubuntu 10.10 64-bit precompiled binaries, but you can compile your own as it also contains the source. If you are using Mac or other operating systems, please wait while we try to package for those OSes. Try to compile it. If it fails, download a virtual machine. The server pack is ready for both Windows and Linux, but you might need to compile your own for Linux (source included) Changelog: Fixed potential bot bugs: Map change, OpenAL...Edi: Edi 1.0 with DarkExpression: Added DarkExpression theme (dialogs and message boxes are not completely themed, yet)DirectX Tool Kit: October 30, 2012 (add WP8 support): October 30, 2012 Added project files for Windows Phone 8MCEBuddy 2.x: MCEBuddy 2.3.6: Changelog for 2.3.6 (32bit and 64bit) 1. Fixed a bug in multichannel audio conversion failure. AAC does not support 6 channel audio, MCEBuddy now checks for it and force the output to 2 channel if AAC codec is specified 2. Fixed a bug in Original Broadcast Date and Time. Original Broadcast Date and Time is reported in UTC timezone in WTV metadata. TVDB and MovieDB dates are reported in network timezone. It is assumed the video is recorded and converted on the same machine, i.e. local timezone...MVVM Light Toolkit: MVVM Light Toolkit V4.1 for Visual Studio 2012: This version only supports Visual Studio 2012 (and all Express editions too). If you use Visual Studio 2010, please stay tuned, we will publish an update in a few days with support for VS10. V4.1 supports: Windows Phone 8 Windows 8 (Windows RT) Silverlight 5 Silverlight 4 WPF 4.5 WPF 4 WPF 3.5 And the following development environments: Visual Studio 2012 (Pro, Premium, Ultimate) Visual Studio 2012 Express for Windows 8 Visual Studio 2012 Express for Windows Phone 8 Visual...Microsoft Ajax Minifier: Microsoft Ajax Minifier 4.73: Fix issue in Discussion #401101 (unreferenced var in a for-in statement was getting removed). add the grouping operator to the parsed output so that unminified parsed code is closer to the original. Will still strip unneeded parens later, if minifying. more cleaning of references as they are minified out of the code.RiP-Ripper & PG-Ripper: PG-Ripper 1.4.03: changes NEW: Added Support for the phun.org forum FIXED: Kitty-Kats new Forum UrlLiberty: v3.4.0.1 Release 28th October 2012: Change Log -Fixed -H4 Fixed the save verification screen showing incorrect mission and difficulty information for some saves -H4 Hopefully fixed the issue where progress did not save between missions and saves would not revert correctly -H3 Fixed crashes that occurred when trying to load player information -Proper exception dialogs will now show in place of crashesPlayer Framework by Microsoft: Player Framework for Windows 8 (Preview 7): This release is compatible with the version of the Smooth Streaming SDK released today (10/26). Release 1 of the player framework is expected to be available next week. IMPROVEMENTS & FIXESIMPORTANT: List of breaking changes from preview 6 Support for the latest smooth streaming SDK. Xaml only: Support for moving any of the UI elements outside the MediaPlayer (e.g. into the appbar). Note: Equivelent changes to the JS version due in coming week. Support for localizing all text used in t...Send multiple SMS via Way2SMS C#: SMS 1.1: Added support for 160by2Quick Launch: Quick Launch 1.0: A Lightweight and Fast Way to Manage and Launch Thousands of Tools and ApplicationsPress Win+Q and start to search and run. http://www.codeplex.com/Download?ProjectName=quicklaunch&DownloadId=523536Orchard Project: Orchard 1.6: Please read our release notes for Orchard 1.6: http://docs.orchardproject.net/Documentation/Orchard-1-6-Release-Notes Please do not post questions as reviews. Questions should be posted in the Discussions tab, where they will usually get promptly responded to. If you post a question as a review, you will pollute the rating, and you won't get an answer.Media Companion: Media Companion 3.507b: Once again, it has been some time since our release, and there have been a number changes since then. It is hoped that these changes will address some of the issues users have been experiencing, and of course, work continues! New Features: Added support for adding Home Movies. Option to sort Movies by votes. Added 'selectedBrowser' preference used when opening links in an external browser. Added option to fallback to getting runtime from the movie file if not available on IMDB. Added new Big...MSBuild Extension Pack: October 2012: Release Blog Post The MSBuild Extension Pack October 2012 release provides a collection of over 475 MSBuild tasks. A high level summary of what the tasks currently cover includes the following: System Items: Active Directory, Certificates, COM+, Console, Date and Time, Drives, Environment Variables, Event Logs, Files and Folders, FTP, GAC, Network, Performance Counters, Registry, Services, Sound Code: Assemblies, AsyncExec, CAB Files, Code Signing, DynamicExecute, File Detokenisation, GUI...NAudio: NAudio 1.6: Release notes at http://mark-dot-net.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/naudio-16-release-notes-10th.htmlPowerShell Community Extensions: 2.1 Production: PowerShell Community Extensions 2.1 Release NotesOct 25, 2012 This version of PSCX supports both Windows PowerShell 2.0 and 3.0. See the ReleaseNotes.txt download above for more information.Umbraco CMS: Umbraco 4.9.1: Umbraco 4.9.1 is a bugfix release to fix major issues in 4.9.0 BugfixesThe full list of fixes can be found in the issue tracker's filtered results. A summary: Split buttons work again, you can now also scroll easier when the list is too long for the screen Media and Content pickers have information of the full path of the picked item Fixed: Publish status may not be accurate on nodes with large doctypes Fixed: 2 media folders and recycle bins after upgrade to 4.9 The template/code ...AcDown????? - AcDown Downloader Framework: AcDown????? v4.2.2: ??●AcDown??????????、??、??、???????。????,????,?????????????????????????。???????????Acfun、????(Bilibili)、??、??、YouTube、??、???、??????、SF????、????????????。 ●??????AcPlay?????,??????、????????????????。 ● AcDown??????????????????,????????????????????????????。 ● AcDown???????C#??,????.NET Framework 2.0??。?????"Acfun?????"。 ????32??64? Windows XP/Vista/7/8 ???? 32??64? ???Linux ????(1)????????Windows XP???,????????.NET Framework 2.0???(x86),?????"?????????"??? (2)???????????Linux???,????????Mono?? ??2...Rawr: Rawr 5.0.2: This is the Downloadable WPF version of Rawr!For web-based version see http://elitistjerks.com/rawr.php You can find the version notes at: http://rawr.codeplex.com/wikipage?title=VersionNotes Rawr Addon (NOT UPDATED YET FOR MOP)We now have a Rawr Official Addon for in-game exporting and importing of character data hosted on Curse. The Addon does not perform calculations like Rawr, it simply shows your exported Rawr data in wow tooltips and lets you export your character to Rawr (including ba...New ProjectsAccess 2010 Application Platform - Build Your Own Database: An Access database used as an Application Platform, where defined modules with functionality can be easily added.ASPMVCUtil: ASPMVCUtil is a compilation of libraries useful for developing in ASP.NET MVCBCF.Net: BCF.Net?????Microsoft.Net?????,??????????????????????????????。BCF.Net?????.Net?????????,???????????????????,???????????。Bytecode Translator: A translator from .NET bytecode to Boogie: Bytecode Translator is a translator from .NET bytecode to Boogie.Chalice: Specification and Verification of Concurrent Programs: Chalice is a verifier for concurrent programsDafny: An Automatic Program Verifier for Functional Correctness: Dafny is an automatic program verifier for functional correctness.DNN Task Manager1: This is the DnnTaskManager Project I have started with to learn how to create DNN modules.E Ledger: E Ledger provide user friendly interface to manage daily ledger party wise. And reporting in this project is platform independent. Reporting is in HTML format.FederatedScaleOutDatabases: A broker piece of code that helps to use relational databases in a scale-out fashion. The broker exposes a LINQ based API.FIFP: project for schedule testFileStrider: Explores 50 biggest forlders and files which "eat" disk spaceFlake ID Generators: Flake Id Generators is a set of decentralized, k-ordered id generation services in C#GFC and ASP.Net: Google Friend Connect and ASP.Net TechnologyGPUVerify: A verifier for GPU kernels: GPUVerify is a tool for verifying race- and divergence-freedom of GPU kernels written in OpenCL and CUDA.labirinthus: This is a simple videogame developed for an university project. I've not the rights of media contents, I used them only for academic purpose. LFS ERP: My First Open Source Systemmangopollo: Mangopollo* will allow you to easily take advantage of new windows phone 8 tiles (cyclic, flip, iconic) and of new launchersMediaAutomator: This project was created in order to provide an automation for media files (videos, music, etc)P-ZPP_ATH_2B: Oto wymyslny i jakze przydatny program utworzony przez grupe 2 b na Czele Radoslawa BuryRemote domain rename: A graphical front-end for Microsoft's netdom utility that allows users to batch rename domain computers.Simple Trading Platform: This project is aimed at providing meaningful trading information including feedback and managed conversations to all traders in an easy to use manner.Software41: Still deciding on what our projects main goal isSqlCondition for the CapableObject's ECO framework.: ECO is a tool for Domain Driven Development from Capable Objects (www.capableobjects.com). ECO uses OCL for loading objects from the database backend. Loading objects by SQL is currently not supported. This project aims to fill that gap, until ECO provides that support.Streamlet Website: This is my own website for personal use.Symmetry XAML Plugins (Osiris Release): Got a bug you just can't crack? Want to automate or customize something but the team will howl at you for checking it in? Symmetry Plugins to the rescue!!!TOP TECHNOLOGIES Learn & Research Labs: At TOP TECHNOLOGIES we are constantly researching awesome and thrilling topics and decided to share our knowledge with the community.UiAutomationExtension: UI Automation ????????????????????。What's Happening Tag Cloud: Web site that creates tag cloud for multiple words. The weight or occurences of this word is responsible for the font size. Position and color are random.?????????: ?????????????: ???? Windows Phone ????,?????,?????????WebService Api,?????wap.10010.com???????。

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  • Should I ditch a creative pet project in lieu of one that would demonstrate skills more applicable to an employer?

    - by Hart Simha
    I am currently working on a project on github that I think would be a good demonstration of my initiative, creativity and enthusiasm. It is an educational game I am developing in pygame that enables the user to learn to improve their development productivity by using vim, specifically with python, though learning to code faster with vim should be transferable to any language. I think this is something that might have a mass appeal and benefit to a lot of people in a measurable way. -However- I am graduating from college in a month (my degree is computer science with a minor in english), with no experience that is relevant to helping me get any kind of job in the field, and a gpa that doesn't tout my merits. I could pursue a career in game development, but it's not necessarily what I'm most interested in, and see myself applying to startups around the country. To the places I am looking at applying, showing that I have experience with pygame is going to be largely irrelevant, except in demonstration of my ability to code, period. A lot of skills that ARE more marketable, such a data modeling, GIS, mobile development, javascript, .net framework, and various web development technologies, are not going to be showcased by this project (on the upside, employers do like to see familiarity with git and python). I'm wondering if I should sink all my free time in the next couple of months into this project, since I'm motivated and interested in it, and if the value of being able to demonstrate ambition and 'good ideas' (for lack of a better term, and in my own opinion) will compensate for the absence of demonstrating more sought-after skills. I am probably at a point where I should either commit fully to this project now, or put it on the backburner in favor of something else, and I am leaning towards continuing with what I am already working on, because I think it's a great idea, and something achievable to me with enough dedication over the next couple months. But the most important thing to me is being able to get a job out of college, which I am exceedingly concerned about as the professional landscape which I am navigating for the first time is a lot more intimidating than I could have anticipated, with almost every job (even short-term contract positions) requiring years of experience which I lack. Oh, and in case anyone is interested, my repository is here: www.github.com/hmsimha/vimagine

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  • Ask the Readers: What Tools Do You Use to Score Great Deals Online?

    - by Jason Fitzpatrick
    The internet has made scoring awesome deals a cinch—but only if you have the right tools and know where to look. This week we want to hear about your favorite tools for scoring the deepest discounts during your online shopping adventures. What we’re most interested in is the tools you use: browser plugins, bookmarklets, and other tools that help you stay on top of price drops and other deal-related information. So let’s hear about it in the comments! What tools do you use to score great deals online? We’ll read all your comments, gather quotes, and share the collective wisdom of the How-To Geek crowd in a follow-up What You Said post on Friday. Latest Features How-To Geek ETC Macs Don’t Make You Creative! So Why Do Artists Really Love Apple? MacX DVD Ripper Pro is Free for How-To Geek Readers (Time Limited!) HTG Explains: What’s a Solid State Drive and What Do I Need to Know? How to Get Amazing Color from Photos in Photoshop, GIMP, and Paint.NET Learn To Adjust Contrast Like a Pro in Photoshop, GIMP, and Paint.NET Have You Ever Wondered How Your Operating System Got Its Name? Etch a Circuit Board using a Simple Homemade Mixture Sync Blocker Stops iTunes from Automatically Syncing The Journey to the Mystical Forest [Wallpaper] Trace Your Browser’s Roots on the Browser Family Tree [Infographic] Save Files Directly from Your Browser to the Cloud in Chrome and Iron The Steve Jobs Chronicles – Charlie and the Apple Factory [Video]

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  • What are the best ways to professionally increase your online presence?

    - by Rob S.
    I've been hunting around the job market for a little bit now and I've been shocked by some of the things I am seeing. Software developers who make themselves more "known" online are getting far more and far better positions than people competing against them who are not as well "known" online. After doing some reading on the subject I realized that I actually shouldn't be so shocked by this. We are living in the most fast paced era of mankind and employers want to be able to learn as much as they can about a potential employee before they hire them. The easier we as software developers make it for us to be found it seems the better are chances of landing that dream job become. In some cases, employers are even finding us instead of us applying to them. So what are some of the best ways for me as a software developer to increase my online presence? I already hang around stack exchange sites such as programmers and stack overflow increasing my rep whenever I can. I maintain many open source projects as both a committer and project owner on Google Code and Github. I have a Twitter account, a website, and a blog. What else can I do to give myself a bigger online presence? Additionally, are there any good do's and don'ts for handling your web presence? Bashing your employer is an obvious don't but I'm interested in everything from the most basic to most subtle suggestions to give yourself a more appealing online presence. Thank you very much in advance for your time.

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  • links for 2011-02-02

    - by Bob Rhubart
    Oracle WebLogic's YouTube Channel Tired of reading? Watch and learn.  (tags: oracle weblogic youtube) Chris Muir: JDev: ADF BC and ADF Libraries: The Library Private property Oracle ACE Director Chris Muir illustrates the use of ADF Libraries. (tags: oracle otn oracleace) Satyajith Nair: Starting a SOA Project? Don't forget the Service Registry!! Satyajith Nair argues that "even with small projects, adding a Service Registry in the architecture has significant benefits with regards to Developer Productivity, Build Quality, Ease of maintenance and Architecture Flexibility." (tags: oracle infosys soa serviceregistry soagovernance) Matthias Wessendorf: Weblog Apache MyFaces in the cloud - Part II Matthias Wessendorf says: "A few days ago I did a quick test to see how well Apache MyFaces works in the cloud. The Amazon Beanstalk test was a success." (tags: oracle apache cloud) SOA & E2.0 Partner Community Forum - registration is open! (SOA Partner Community Blog) Jurgen Kress with an update on next month's event in the Netherlands. (tags: oracle otn soa enterprise2.0) Well Hello There, WebCenter PS3 VM | The AppsLab Jake Kuramoto says: "You may recall my struggle last year to assemble and document a WebCenter VM. Well, apparently other people thought it was a good idea..." (tags: oracle otn enterprise2.0 webcenter) InfoQ: Proving the Business Value of SOA Anne Thomas Manes discusses SOA goals and objectives used to measure a system’s success, measuring the business value, SOA project metrics, and recommendations on proving the business value of SOA. (tags: ping.fm) InfoQ: Amazon Will Offer Oracle Database 11g on RDS Amazon will offer Oracle Database 11g on RDS which brings patching, backup, replication, and failover support to Oracle’s database. (tags: ping.fm)

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  • Use Your Web Browser As A Calculator

    - by Gopinath
    Quite often most of us require Calculator application to evaluate percentage calculations, divisions,etc. Whenever I needed a calculator application I launch Windows Calculator application as it’s built into each and every version of Windows I use.  But the moment I learn that almost all the web browsers have a built in calculator, I stopped using Windows Calculator.  Google Search Box – Every Browser’s Built In Calculator Google Search Box is the built in calculator of every web browser. The search box is capable of evaluation simple expressions like 20/50+10 as well as complex arithmetic formulas that include functions like sin, cos, tan,etc. Almost every web browser has Google Search box by default, if not you can install it very quickly. In Google Chrome browser, Google Search box is built in right inside the address bar. In Firefox & Internet Explorer you can locate it on the top right corner.    To perform calculations, why to launch Calculator when we have a web browser open on our desktop most of the time? Join us on Facebook to read all our stories right inside your Facebook news feed.

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

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

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  • Meet The MySQL Experts Podcast: MySQL Utilities

    - by Wei-Chen Chiu
    Managing a MySQL database server can become a full time job. In many occasions, one MySQL DBA needs to manage multiple, even tens of, MySQL servers, and tools that bundle a set of related tasks into a common utility can be a big time saver, allowing you spend more time improving performance and less time executing repeating tasks. While there are several such utility libraries to choose, it is often the case that you need to customize them to your needs. The MySQL Utilities library is the answer to that need. It is open source so you can modify and expand it as you see fit. In the latest episode of the "Meet the MySQL Experts" podcast series, Chuck Bell, Sr. MySQL Software Developer at Oracle, introduces a variety of recently released MySQL Utilities, and how DBAs can save significant time using the utilities. Listen to the podcast and learn the highlights in 10 minutes. If you want to gain further details, attend the on-demand webinar for a more complete introduction, including: Use cases for each utility How to group utilities for even more usability How to modify utilities for your needs How to develop and contribute new utilities  Enjoy!

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  • Design pattern for client/server sessions?

    - by nonot1
    Are there any common patterns or general guidance I can learn from for how to design a client/server system where the both the client and server must maintain some kind per-client session state? I've found any number of libraries that can help with some of the plumbing, but it's the overall design I'm wondering about. Open issues in my mind: How to structure the client/server communication so that bidirectional synchronous and asynchronous requests are possible? The server side needs to spawn a couple of per-connected-client session-long helper process. How to manage that? How to manage the mapping from a given client (and any of it's requests) to server state and helper process instances in the face of multiple clients and intermittent network connectivity. Most communication can be simple blocking request/reply, but some will be long running processing tasks that the client will want to keep tabs on. To the extent that it matters, the platform is Linux/C/C++. Not web based. Just an existing thick-client software app being modified to talk to backend servers for some tasks.

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  • Review: Data Modeling 101

    I just recently read “Data Modeling 101”by Scott W. Ambler where he gave an overview of fundamental data modeling skills. I think this article was excellent for anyone who was just starting to learn or refresh their skills in regards to the modeling of data.  Scott defines data modeling as the act of exploring data oriented structures.  He goes on to explain about how data models are actually used by defining three different types of models. Types of Data Models Conceptual Data Model  Logical Data Model (LDMs) Physical Data Model(PDMs) He further expands on modeling by exploring common data modeling notations because there are no industry standards for the practice of data modeling. Scott then defines how to actually model data by expanding on entities, attributes, identities, and relationships which are the basic building blocks of data models. In addition he discusses the value of normalization for redundancy and demoralization for performance. Finally, he discuss ways in which Developers and DBAs can become better data modelers through the use of practice, and seeking guidance from more experienced data modelers.

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  • Oracle Cloud Solutions @ Cloud Expo East (June 10-12)

    - by Gene Eun
    Oracle is proud to be the Platinum Sponsor at next week's Cloud Expo East (June 10-12) at the Javits Center in New York City.  This is the fourth consecutive year Oracle has sponsored Cloud Expo. As in years past, Oracle has a full schedule of sessions shown below. We'd love to have you be our guest at Cloud Expo East and have you attend one of our sessions and hear more about our thought leadership and leading solutions in the Cloud and Big Data. We'll also have booth #207, so please stop by and see a demo of many of our cloud offerings. Date  Time  Session Title  Track  Room Tuesday, June 10 4:40 pm - 5:15 pm Top 5 Best Practices for your Application Platform As a Service Cloud Business and the API Economy | Deploying the Cloud TBD Wednesday, June 11 9:10 am - 10:10 am Cloud Odyssey:  A Hero’s Quest All Tracks (Keynote) Keynote Hall Wednesday, June 11 10:15 am - 10:45 am Big Data Management System: Smart SWL Processing Across Hadoop and Your Data Warehouse All Tracks (General Session) Keynote Hall Wednesday, June 11 2:50 pm - 3:25 pm Plug into the Cloud: Your Blueprint to Database as a Service Mobile | Hot Topics TBD Wednesday, June 11 2:50 pm - 3:25 pm From Supply-led to Demand-led: Lead Your IT to Better Serve Your Users Cloud Business and the API Economy | Deploying the Cloud TBD Thursday, June 12 2:50 pm - 3:25 pm Reduce Complexity and Accelerate Innovation with IaaS and PaaS Cloud Business and the API Economy | Deploying the Cloud TBD At Cloud Expo East, you'll get to learn about and experience the latest in Cloud and Big Data. If you don't have a pass to Cloud Expo, no problem. Oracle is giving away FREE VIP Gold Passes! We would love to have you attend Cloud Expo on us. Just go to Oracle's Cloud Expo 2014 event registration page and follow the instructions for a complimentary pass. Stay tuned to this blog and follow us on Twitter (@OracleCloudZone) during and after Cloud Expo for more insight and observations about this year's conference.

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  • Windows Phone 7 Series &ndash; First Developer Information

    - by Nikita Polyakov
    The official developer story for Windows Phone 7 Series was finally announced at MIX10. You can review the recording of the Keynote at http://live.visitmix.com, also all the sessions will be available within 24hours of their posting. There is extensive list of presentations for Windows Phone listed here. You can start playing with these tools today! Official Silverlight site for Mobile Development: http://silverlight.net/getstarted/devices/windows-phone/  Channel 9 has a training information here: http://channel9.msdn.com/posts/Learn/Windows-Phone-7-Series-Training/ Ok, and for the ones in the hurry, direct link: Windows Phone Developer Tools CTP                      Here is the overview summary of the announcements: End-to-End Mobile Development Platform: By combining Silverlight for rich internet applications and the XNA Framework for game development, developers and designers will be able to build visually stunning and immersive applications and games on the Windows Phone 7 Series. Free Windows Phone Developer Tools: Microsoft has released a free comprehensive tool support package for Silverlight on Windows Phone 7 Series, available for download. Expression Blend for Windows Phone and a preview of Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone will be also included as part of the download. Windows Phone Marketplace: Microsoft made available a new merchandising tool that will enable developers and designers to bring applications and games to market and increase the discoverability of applications with customers while supporting one-time credit card purchases, mobile operator billing and advertising-funded applications.

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  • Don't Miss the Social Engagement Center -- See How Social Cloud Tools Can Work for You

    - by Oracle OpenWorld Blog Team
    Are you ready to get social at Oracle OpenWorld? Stop by the Oracle Social Engagement Center in Moscone South Upper Lobby (near the South Meetup location) and see Oracle Cloud Social Services in action. Ask Oracle's social experts how they're using next-generation enterprise social tools to deliver extreme engagement. Watch in near real-time as Oracle reaches out to inform, inspire, and engage global communities. We're showing: -     Collective Intellect for specific data sets on 2 large screens-     Vitrue analytics and Vitrue publishing on 2 large screens-     Relative Twitter activity across the hash tags #OOW, #OOW12, #openworld, #oracle, and accounts @oracle, and @openworld on 1 large screenPlus we have 5 computers where we're actively working with the Collective Intellect and Vitrue technologies, so you can how they function. So come visit the Social Engagement Center to learn how Oracle is using and engaging with these tools.  And don't forget the Social Plaza @ OpenWorld event on Tuesday from noon - 8:00 p.m. Join us for food, drink, the afternoon keynote, and some cool libations on a hot afternoon.

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  • TechEd 2010 Day Two – No SQL Server in Sight

    - by BuckWoody
    Today I worked the booth at TechEd 2010, manning the new “Surface” computer, which is just the coolest object on the planet. After that I didn’t attend a single SQL Server session – instead I’ve been frequenting SharePoint, Microsoft Office, and even the High-Performance Computing sessions. The reason is that I get really high quality SQL Server presentations at PASS, SQL Saturdays, and online from Microsoft and other vendors. While there are SQL Server sessions here (after all, I’m giving one of them!) I tend to try and see things that I don’t normally get to learn about. And the cross-pollination between those technologies and mine is fantastic.     I’ve even managed to go to an Entity Framework presentation for the developers. I actually have (a little) more respect for that technology – and I’ve modified my presentation to encompass more of that information. So whenever you have the chance, take a walk outside your comfort zone. Even at PASS and SQL Saturdays (and certainly online) you can investigate technologies other than the ones you know best.  Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! | live it!

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  • New ATG Web Commerce Specialization is Hot, Hot, Hot

    - by Kristin Rose
    Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire! Record breaking temperatures aren’t the only things raising the thermometer this summer –not since the new ATG Specialization became available, and get this – we already have a list of partners who have achieved their ATG Web Commerce Specialization, including: Accenture, AAXIS Commerce, Knowledge Path, ObjectEdge, Professional Access and ThinkWrap. Now that’s just sizzling! As part of this smokin’ hot Specialization, Oracle is offering ATG Commerce 10 Implementation Developer Boot Camps. Through direct hands-on experience, and technical training, developers and software architects will gain some serious insight into best practices, as well as relevant and applicable implementation experience to keep cool under pressure. So if you’re ready to stand-out, be sensational and separate yourself from the competition, learn about the steps you need to take to become ATG Web Commerce Specialized today, and don't forget to spread the word over Facebook and Twitter! Setting Fire to the Rain, The OPN Communications Team

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  • Purpose of "new" keyword

    - by Channel72
    The new keyword in languages like Java, Javascript, and C# creates a new instance of a class. This syntax seems to have been inherited from C++, where new is used specifically to allocate a new instance of a class on the heap, and return a pointer to the new instance. In C++, this is not the only way to construct an object. You can also construct an object on the stack, without using new - and in fact, this way of constructing objects is much more common in C++. So, coming from a C++ background, the new keyword in languages like Java, Javascript, and C# seemed natural and obvious to me. Then I started to learn Python, which doesn't have the new keyword. In Python, an instance is constructed simply by calling the constructor, like: f = Foo() At first, this seemed a bit off to me, until it occurred to me that there's no reason for Python to have new, because everything is an object so there's no need to disambiguate between various constructor syntaxes. But then I thought - what's really the point of new in Java? Why should we say Object o = new Object();? Why not just Object o = Object();? In C++ there's definitely a need for new, since we need to distinguish between allocating on the heap and allocating on the stack, but in Java all objects are constructed on the heap, so why even have the new keyword? The same question could be asked for Javascript. In C#, which I'm much less familiar with, I think new may have some purpose in terms of distinguishing between object types and value types, but I'm not sure. Regardless, it seems to me that many languages which came after C++ simply "inherited" the new keyword - without really needing it. It's almost like a vestigial keyword. We don't seem to need it for any reason, and yet it's there. Question: Am I correct about this? Or is there some compelling reason that new needs to be in C++-inspired memory-managed languages like Java, Javascript and C#?

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  • Small-scale database options for .NET

    - by raney
    I have a .NET 4.0/WPF based application I've developed and maintain for my company that acts as a friendly GUI central-point-of-information, combining information pulled from a couple of SQL databases, as well as CSV exports from a few other applications. I would like to build out my own database to support the entirety of the information that the application accesses, so that I could have a service running on my server that would read in necessary remote SQL info and file exports, to provide the user's application with a single database to connect to, as well as to remove all of the file handling currently involved in the program (copying new CSV resources from network location, reading them into memory each launch.) I have complete control and flexibility here as long as the user's experience isn't affected, and this is as much a learning experience as it is tidying up. Caveat being, I don't have much in the way of a budget. Right now I recognize my options to be: SQL Express - I'm comfortable with the server setup, I like ADO.NET and LINQ to SQL. I feel that I have the least to learn here, but it would let me focus on SQL in a familiar environment. Perhaps in conjunction with Entity Framework? MongoDB - I don't know a whole lot about, but I've heard the name enough to make me curious. Brief research seems friendly enough, and there is .NET support. I like working with open source projects. My questions are: What's popular and extensible right now? I'm not far from starting to job-hunt, and I'd like this project to be relevant going forward. What am I missing? Pros, cons? Other options? What plays well with .NET? What are the things I should be considering, the questions I should be asking, when making a decision like this? Thanks for your time.

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  • Show Notes: Debra Lilley on Fusion Applications

    - by Bob Rhubart
    The latest ArchBeat program features a three-part interview with Oracle ACE Director Debra Lilley (ACE Profile). Debra is Oracle Alliance Director at Fujitsu, Executive Member at the International Oracle Users Group Community (IOUG), Director and Deputy Chair at the UK Oracle Users Group (UKOUG), and a partner at Oracle UK.  So yeah, she’s connected.  In this interview Debra talks about her connection to Oracle Fusion Applications. Listen to Part 1 Debra talks about her role as the as the Director and Deputy Chairperson of the UKOUG and about the UKOUG development group’s involvement in Oracle Fusion Applications. Listen to Part 2 (March 9) Debra shares her insight into what Fusion Applications will bring to Enterprise Architecture, and the importance of user experience in enterprise architecture. Listen to Part 3 (March 16) Debra discusses the need to  close the gap between IT and business, and about how business users should be able to use applications without having to think about the underlying technology. Debra is very active in social networks, so if you have questions or comments you can connect with her via the following: Blog: http://www.debrasoracle.blogspot.com/ Twitter: @debralilley LinkedIn:  http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/debra-lilley/1/438/bba And if you’d like to learn more about Oracle Fusion Applications: http://www.oracle.com/us/products/applications/fusion/index.html Coming Soon Dr. Frank Munz, author of Middleware and Cloud Computing: Oracle Fusion Middleware on Amazon Web Services and Rackspace Cloud.  Andy MacMillan (VP, Enterprise 2.0, Oracle) on the socialization of the enterprise. A panel discussion on “Who gets to be a software architect?” Stay tuned: RSS Technorati Tags: oracle,fusion applications,enterprise architecture,IOUG,UKOUG del.icio.us Tags: oracle,fusion applications,enterprise architecture,IOUG,UKOUG

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  • Write DAX queries in Report Builder #ssrs #dax #ssas #tabular

    - by Marco Russo (SQLBI)
    If you use Report Builder with Reporting Services, you can use DAX queries even if the editor for Analysis Services provider does not support DAX syntax. In fact, the DMX editor that you can use in Visual Studio editor of Reporting Services (see a previous post on that), is not available in Report Builder. However, as Sagar Salvi commented in this Microsoft Connect entry, you can use the DAX query text in the query of a Dataset by using the OLE DB provider instead of the Analysis Services one. I think it’s a good idea to show the steps required. First, create a DataSet using the OLE DB connection type, and provide the connection string the provider (Provider), the server name (Data Source) and the database name (Initial Catalog), such as: Provider=MSOLAP;Data Source=SERVERNAME\\TABULAR;Initial Catalog=AdventureWorks Tabular Model SQL 2012 Then, create a Dataset using the data source previously defined, select the Text query type, and write the DAX code in the Query pane: You can also use the Query Designer window, that doesn’t provide any particular help in writing the DAX query, but at least can show a preview of the result of the query execution. I hope DAX will get better editors in the future… in the meantime, remember you can use DAX Studio to write and test your DAX queries, and DAX Formatter to improve their readability!If you want to learn the DAX Query Language, I suggest you watching my video Data Analysis Expressions as a Query Language on Project Botticelli!

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  • "Don't do programming after a few years of starting career" Is this a fair advice?

    - by Muhammad Yasir
    I am a little experienced developer having around 5 years experience in PHP and somewhat less in Java, C# and trying to learn some Python now a days. Since the start of my career as a programmer I have been told every now and then by fellow programmers that programming is suitable for a few early years of carrier (most of them take it as 5 years) and that one must change the direction after it. The reason they present is that headaches and pressures associated with programming. They also say that programmers are less social and don't usually like to give time to their families etc. and specially "Oh come on, you can not do programming in your entire life!" I am somewhat confused here and need to ask others about it. If I leave programming then what do I do?! I guess teaching may be a good option in this case but it will require to first earn a PhD degree perhaps. It may also be noteworthy that in my country (Pakistan) the life of a programmer is not very good in that normally they must give 2-3 extra hours in office to accomplish urgent programming tasks. I have a sense that situation is somewhat similar in other countries and regions as well. So the question is, do you think it is a fair advice to change career from programming to something else after spending 5 years in this field? Thanks for sharing thoughts!

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  • How To: Modernize IBM AIX/Power To Oracle Solaris/SPARC

    - by Cinzia Mascanzoni
    Learn how to leverage the Modernizing IBM AIX/Power to Oracle Solaris/SPARC Program, to assist you in migrating IBM AIX/Power customers to the Oracle Solaris/SPARC platform.  Customers will find Oracle Solaris/SPARC solutions an ideal long-term platform, providing greatly significantly reduced capital and operational cost savings and greatly improved performance and productivity. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}

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  • Two things I learned this week...

    - by noreply(at)blogger.com (Thomas Kyte)
    I often say "I learn something new about Oracle every day".  It really is true - there is so much to know about it, it is hard to keep up sometimes.Here are the two new things I learned - the first is regarding temporary tablespaces.  In the past - when people have asked "how can I shrink my temporary tablespace" I've said "create a new one that is smaller, alter your database/users to use this new one by default, wait a bit, drop the old one".  Actually I usually said first - "don't, it'll just grow again" but some people really wanted to make it smaller.Now, there is an easier way:http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E11882_01/server.112/e26088/statements_3002.htm#SQLRF53578Using alter tablespace temp shrink space .The second thing is just a little sqlplus quirk that I probably knew at one point but totally forgot.  People run into problems with &'s in sqlplus all of the time as sqlplus tries to substitute in for an &variable.  So, if they try to select '&hello world' from dual - they'll get:ops$tkyte%ORA11GR2> select '&hello world' from dual;Enter value for hello: old   1: select '&hello world' from dualnew   1: select ' world' from dual'WORLD------ worldops$tkyte%ORA11GR2> One solution is to "set define off" to disable the substitution (or set define to some other character).  Another oft quoted solution is to use chr(38) - select chr(38)||'hello world' from dual.  I never liked that one personally.  Today - I was shown another wayhttps://asktom.oracle.com/pls/apex/f?p=100:11:0::::P11_QUESTION_ID:4549764300346084350#4573022300346189787 ops$tkyte%ORA11GR2> select '&' || 'hello world' from dual;'&'||'HELLOW------------&hello worldops$tkyte%ORA11GR2>just concatenate '&' to the string, sqlplus doesn't touch that one!  I like that better than chr(38) (but a little less than set define off....)

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  • Webcast - Set Your Sights on Enterprise 2.0 in the Cloud

    - by [email protected]
    To gain a competitive edge in your market, you need your business processes to be more collaborative, agile, and flexible to meet growing business demands. How can you make that happen? One way is to deploy portal, content management, and Enterprise 2.0 capabilities on a cloud infrastructure. According to top industry analysts, Enterprise 2.0 and cloud computing are two of the top three CIO initiatives in 2010. What are some of the advantages associated with deploying your Enterprise 2.0 initiatives in a cloud environment? Learn about the security, performance, and flexibility benefits that are available to you. Watch our complimentary live Webcast, Cloud Computing and Enterprise 2.0--Gain a Competitive Advantage, to get the answers you're looking for. Find out how Oracle pioneered the highly scalable and highly secure solutions that will enable you to: Quickly deploy on a cloud computing infrastructure that can scale as projects go viral Accelerate business processes, such as new product introduction, customer service, and new employee on-boarding Take advantage of best practices in cloud computing and Enterprise 2.0 implementations Join us for this LIVE webcast tomorrow as we show you how to achieve a higher level of performance and flexibility with Enterprise 2.0 and cloud computing. Register today for the live Webcast.

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  • OK - What now? How do we become a Social Business?

    - by Michael Snow
    We hope that those of you that attended yesterday's Webcast with Brian Solis enjoyed Brian's discussion with Christian Finn for our last Webcast of the season for the Oracle Social Business Thought Leaders Series.  For those of you that may have missed the webcast or were stuck at a company holiday party - you'll be glad to hear that the webcast will be available On-Demand starting later today (12/14/12). And any of you who'd like to listen to a quick but informative podcast with Brian - can listen to that here. Some of you may still be left with questions about how to get from point A to point B and even more confused than when you started thinking about this new world of Digital Darwinism. The post below, grabbed from an abundance of great thought leadership prose on Brian's blog may help you frame the path you need to start walking sooner versus later to stay off of the endangered species list.  As you explore your path forward, please keep Oracle in mind - we do offer a wide range of solutions to help your organization 12.00 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} optimize the engagement for your customers, employees and partners. The Path from a Social Brand to a Social Business Brian Solis Originally posted May 2, 2012 I’ve been a long-time supporter of MediaTemple’s (MT)Residence program along with Gary Vaynerchuk, Neil Patel, and many others whom I respect. I wanted to share my “7 questions to answer to become a social business” with you here.. Social Media is pervasive and is becoming the new normal in corporate marketing. Brands who get this right are starting to build their own media networks rich with customer connections numbering in the millions. Right now, Coca-Cola has over 34 million fans on Facebook, but they’re hardly alone. Disney follows just behind with 29 million fans, Starbucks boasts 25 million, and Oreo, Red Bull, and Converse play host to over 20 million fans. If we were to look at other networks such as Twitter and Youtube, we would see a recurring theme. People are connecting en masse with the businesses they support and new media represents the ability to cultivate consumer relationships in ways not possible with traditional earned or paid media. Sounds great right? This might sound abrupt, but the truth is that we’re hardly realizing the potential of what lies before us. Everything begins with understanding not just how other brands are marketing themselves in social media, but also seeing what they’re not doing and envisioning what’s possible. We’re already approaching the first of many crossroads that new media will present. Do we take the path of a social brand or that of a social business? What’s the difference? A social brand is just that, a business that is remodeling or retrofitting its existing marketing practices to new media. A social business is something altogether different as it embraces introspection and extrospection to reevaluate internal and external processes, systems, and opportunities to transform into a living, breathing entity that adapts to market conditions and opportunities. It’s a tough decision to make right now especially at a time when all we read about is how much success many businesses are finding without having to answer this very question. With all of the newfound success in social networks, the truth is that we’re only just beginning to learn what’s possible and that’s where you come in. When compared to the investment in time and resources across the board, social media represents only a small part of the mix. But with your help, that’s all about to change. The CMO Survey, an organization that disseminates the opinions of top marketers in order to predict the future of markets, recently published a report that gave credence to the fact that social media is taking off. One of the most profound takeaways from the report was this gem; “The “like button” [in Facebook] packs more customer-acquisition punch than other demand-generating activities.” With insights like this, it’s easy to see why the race to social is becoming heated. The report also highlighted exactly where social fits in the marketing mix today and as you can see, despite all of the hype, it’s not a dominant focus yet. As of August 2011, the percentage of overall marketing budgets dedicated to social media hovered at around 7%. However, in 2012 the investment in social media will climb to 10%. And, in five years, social media is expected to represent almost 18% of the total marketing budget. Think about that for a moment. In 2016, social media will only represent 18%? Queue the sound of a record scratching here. With businesses finding success in social networks, why are businesses failing to realize the true opportunity brought forth by the ability to listen to, connect with, and engage with customers? While there’s value in earning views, driving traffic, and building connections through the 3F’s (friends, fans and followers), success isn’t just defined simply by what really amounts to low-hanging fruit. The truth is that businesses cannot measure what it is they don’t know to value. As a result, innovation in new engagement initiatives is stifled because we’re applying dated or inflexible frameworks to new paradigms. Social media isn’t owned by marketing, but instead the entire organization. This changes everything and makes your role so much more important. It’s up to you to learn how to think outside of the proverbial social media box to see what others don’t, the ability to improve customers experiences through the evolution of a social brand into a social business. Doing so will translate customer insights from what they do and don’t share in social networks into better products, services, and processes. See, customers want something more from their favorite businesses than creative campaigns, viral content, and everyday dialogue in social networks. Customers want to be heard and they want to know that you’re listening. How businesses use social media must remind them that they’re more than just an audience, consumer, or a conduit to “trigger” a desired social effect. Herein lies both the challenge and opportunity of social media. It’s bigger than marketing. It’s also bigger than customer service. It’s about building relationships with customers that improve experiences and more importantly, teaches businesses how to re-imagine products and internal processes to better adapt to potential crises and seize new opportunities. When it comes down to it, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Foursquare, are all channels for listening, learning, and engaging. It’s what you do within each channel that builds a community around your brand. And, at the end of the day, the value of the community you build counts for everything. It’s important to understand that we cannot assume that these networks simply exist for people to lineup for our marketing messages or promotional campaigns. Nor can we assume that they’re reeling in anticipation for simple dialogue. They want value. They want recognition. They want access to exclusive information and offers. They need direction, answers and resolution. What we’re talking about here is the multidimensional makeup of consumers and how a one-sided approach to social media forces the needs for social media to expand beyond traditional marketing to socialize the various departments, lines of business, and functions to engage based on the nature of the situation or opportunity. In the same CMO study, it was revealed that marketers believe that social media has a long way to go toward integrating into the overall company strategy. On a scale of 1-7, with one being “not integrated at all” and seven being “very integrated,” 22% chose “one.” Critical functions such as service, HR, sales, R&D, product marketing and development, IR, CSR, etc. are either not engaged or are operating social media within a silo disconnected from other efforts or possibilities. The problem is that customers don’t view a company by silo, instead they see one company, one brand, and their experience in social media forms an impression that eventually contributes to their view of your brand. The first step here is to understand business priorities and objectives to assess how social media can be additive in achieving these goals. Additionally, surveying the landscape to determine other areas of interest as its specifically related to your business. • Are customers seeking help or direction? • Who are your most valuable customers and what are they sharing? • How can you use social media to acquire and retain customers? - What ideas are circulating and how can you harness user generated activity and content to innovate or adapt to better meet the needs of customers? - How can you broaden a single customer view to recognize the varying needs of customers and how your organization can organize around each circumstance? - What insights exist based on how consumers are interacting with one another? How can this intelligence inform marketing, service, products and other important business initiatives? - How can your business extend their current efforts to deliver better customer experiences and in turn more effectively unit internal collaboration and communication? Customer demands far exceed the capabilities of the marketing department. While creating a social brand is a necessary endeavor, building a social business is an investment in customer relevance now and over time. Beyond relevance, a social business fosters a culture of change that unites employees and customers and sets a foundation for meaningful and beneficial relationships. Innovation, communication, and creativity are the natural byproducts of engagement and transformation. As a social brand, we are competing for the moment. As a social business, we are competing the future in all that we do today.

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  • Improve Customer Experience with Real-Time Scheduling

    - by ruth.donohue
    Recently, my husband rearranged his busy work schedule so that he could stay home an entire afternoon to wait for the alarm company to reset the password to our alarm system, only to discover at the end of the afternoon that the field service rep wasn’t going to be able to make the appointment after all. And, the company asked him to reschedule and block off time for another afternoon. Needless to say, my husband wasn’t happy with that experience. Unfortunately, customer experiences like this happen every day. As a business, you can’t afford these types of encounters. It’s too easy for your customers to turn to one of your competitors once they’ve reached the point of frustration. Customer experience and customer loyalty are more important than ever. So how can you prevent something like this from occurring? With the newly available Siebel Field Service Integration with Oracle Real-Time Scheduler, your service organization can: Create cost-optimized plans and schedules to improve operating efficiencies Deliver more accurate ETA’s and shorten appointment windows Minimize the impact of in-day events such as delays on site, sickness, poor weather conditions, and vehicle breakdowns Rather than requiring them to wait for an entire afternoon, imagine asking customers to be available for only an hour. And being able to commit to that time by working around unforeseen events and understanding the impact of delays or re-routings before they become customer issues. What would your customer experience and customer satisfaction be like then? Learn more about the Siebel Field Service Integration with Oracle Real-Time Scheduler: Register for and attend the upcoming webcast on Thursday, March 10th at 8:30 AM Pacific Time Read the press release, data sheet, and solution brief Visit the Siebel Field Service webpage

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