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  • Examples of "Lost art" on software technology/development

    - by mamcx
    With the advent of a new technology, some old ideas - despite been good - are forgotten in the process. I read a lot how some "new" thing was already present in Lisp like 60 years ago, but only recently resurface with other name or on top of another language. Now look like the new old thing is build functional, non-mutable, non-locking-thread stuff... and that make me wonder what have been "lost" in the art of development of software? What ideas are almost forgotten, waiting for resurface? One of my, I remember when I code in foxpro. The idea of have a full stack to develop database apps without impedance mismatch is something I truly miss. In the current languages, I never find another environment that match how easy was develop in fox back them. What else is missing?

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  • How to make a great functional specification

    - by sfrj
    I am going to start a little side project very soon, but this time i want to do not just the little UML domain model and case diagrams i often do before programming, i thought about making a full functional specification. Is there anybody that has experience writing functional specifications that could recommend me what i need to add to it? How would be the best way to start preparing it? Here i will write down the topics that i think are more relevant: Purpose Functional Overview Context Diagram Critical Project Success Factors Scope (In & Out) Assumptions Actors (Data Sources, System Actors) Use Case Diagram Process Flow Diagram Activity Diagram Security Requirements Performance Requirements Special Requirements Business Rules Domain Model (Data model) Flow Scenarios (Success, alternate…) Time Schedule (Task Management) Goals System Requirements Expected Expenses What do you think about those topics? Shall i add something else? or maybe remove something?

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  • Where would a spam bot be located?

    - by Tim
    I have a hosted website using a free hosting service, I received an email this afternoon saying that I have been suspended because my account has been compromised. Basically, someone is using my email account to mass send spam. I've changed all the passwords and everything but when my Gmail pulls the emails from the host it's still downloading loads of spam messages that show like this: This message was created automatically by mail delivery software. A message that you sent could not be delivered to one or more of its recipients. This is a permanent error. The following address(es) failed: [email protected] SMTP error from remote mail server after end of data: host 198.91.80.251 [198.91.80.251]: 554 5.6.0 id=23634-03 - Rejected by MTA on relaying, from MTA([127.0.0.1]:10030): 554 Error: This email address has lost rights to send email from the system ------ This is a copy of the message, including all the headers. ------ Return-path: <[email protected]> Received: from keenesystems.com ([66.135.33.211]:2370 helo=server211) by absolut.x10hosting.com with esmtpsa (TLSv1:RC4-MD5:128) (Exim 4.77) (envelope-from <[email protected]>) id 1TGwSW-002hHe-Lc for [email protected]; Wed, 26 Sep 2012 13:35:44 -0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2012 13:35:43 -0500 X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-Mailer: Ximian Evolution 3.9.9 (8.5.3-6) Subject: New staff members wanted at Auction It Online From: [email protected] Reply-To: [email protected] To: "Nadia Monti" <[email protected]> Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Message-ID: <OUTLOOK-IDM-9aed7054-6a3e-e1a4-1d5c-3e73377652a6@server211> Date : 26 September 2012=0ATime : 13:35=0ASender : Dennise Halcomb Head = Office Manager of RJ Auction Drop-Off Int.=0A=0ANice to meet you Nadia M= onti=0A=0ARJ ADO Ltd., a USA based company, offers a significant amount = of goods worldwide for our customers on eBay and other auction venues. = Our company's main target is to provide a suitable and cost-effective se= rvice for any person, company or fundraising company. The main purpose o= f the administrative assistant / sales support representative is to cont= ribute to the sales force and add convenience to our cost-effective serv= ice dedicated to individuals, businesses, and organizations worldwide. O= ur HR department obtained your resume from one of the various job-orient= ed websites just to offer you this post.=0A=0AWorking Schedule: This is = a part time and home-based offer. You won't need to spend more than 3 ho= urs each day. Your =0Aschedule will be flexible.=0A=0ASalary: At the end= of the trial period (it lasts for 1 month) you will be paid 1,800 EUR. = With the average volume of clients your overall income will raise up to = 3,000 EUR per month. After the trial period is over your base salary wil= l grow up to 2,500 EUR per month, so you will earn 5% commission from th= e transactions completed.=0A=0AWhere?: Italy Wide. As it is a stay at ho= me position all the communication will be carried out via email and via = phone.=0A=0ARequirements: Access to the internet during the workday and = basic microsoft office skills are needed. Basic knowledge of English is = required (most of the contacts will be in English).=0A=0ACosts and Fees:= There are NO costs at any time for our employees. All fees related to t= his position are covered by the RJ ADO Co. Ltd..=0A=0AFurther Hiring Pro= cess: If you are interested in position we offer, please reply to this e= mail and send us the copy of your resume for verification.=0A=0AAfter re= viewing all of the received applications we will reply to successful app= licants only. Then we'll offer to these successful applicants a position= within our firm on a trial period basis for one month beginning from th= e date you sign a trial agreement. During this trial period you will rec= eive full guidance and support. Employees on a one monthly trial period = are evaluated at least one week prior to the end of their trial. During = the trial, your supervisor can recommend termination. At the end of the = trial period, the supervisor can offer continued employment, extension o= f trial period, or termination. After the trial period you may ask for m= ore hours or continue full-time.=0A=0AIf you are interested in this posi= tion, just reply to this email and send any questions you have and the c= opy of your resume for verification.=0A=0AThank You,=0AHR-Manager of RJ = ADO Co. Ltd.=0A=0APermission Settings=0AYou have been referred to RJ Auc= tion Drop-Off If you feel you received this email in error or do not wis= h to receive future messages, please reply to this message with "remove"= in the subject field. We will immediately update our database according= ly. =0AWe apologize for any inconvenience caused.=0A=0ARJ Auction Drop-O= ff Co. Ltd. I'm not aware of how this has happened. I'm not sure how anyone could have got hold of my password. It's a simple wordpress install, at some point recently my host went down and there was a fresh install of wordpress with default admin accounts, I have a feeling it could be something to do with this. My question is, even though I've changed all my passwords it's all still happening, is there annywhere in paticular this script would be stored on my host. I really can't deal with having my hosting account suspended and my email account sending all this spam.

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  • Any way for ubuntu to use more than one core of i7 cpu on my Asus laptop?

    - by G. He
    Newly installed ubuntu 11.10 on a new Asus U46E laptop. /proc/cpuinfo correctly identified the cpu but shows only one core: processor : 0 vendor_id : GenuineIntel cpu family : 6 model : 42 model name : Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2640M CPU @ 2.80GHz stepping : 7 cpu MHz : 800.000 cache size : 4096 KB physical id : 0 siblings : 1 core id : 0 cpu cores : 1 apicid : 0 initial apicid : 0 fpu : yes fpu_exception : yes cpuid level : 13 wp : yes flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx rdtscp lm constant_tsc up arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl xtopology nonstop_tsc aperfmperf pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx smx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm sse4_1 sse4_2 x2apic popcnt aes xsave avx lahf_lm ida arat epb xsaveopt pln pts dts tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid bogomips : 5587.63 clflush size : 64 cache_alignment : 64 address sizes : 36 bits physical, 48 bits virtual power management: I search here and found the answer to one post suggesting remove boot parameter 'nolapic'. However, on my particular laptop, ubuntu won't boot without this nolapic parameter. Is there anyway for ubuntu correly utility the full cpu power?

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  • Repairing or recreating a bootloader on a multi-booting EFI GPT system

    - by Emre
    Reinstalling Ubuntu messed up my boot loader so I I tried to fix it with boot repair. It detected my OSX installation and asked about removing the "separate boot/EFI". It also said my partition was full despite the fact that it wasn't and asked me to remove stuff. I declined both and proceeded. It's been stuck at the "purge and reinstall the GRUB" stage for half an hour. Is this typical, bearing in mind I have a fast SSD and CPU? Is there a better way to re-install grub on a multi-booting UEFI system? Does my pastebin provide any insight?

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  • Microsoft Access 2010: How to Format Reports

    While Access 2010 provides of multitude of functionality, it is its easy to use nature that is perhaps even more impressive. It comes with an intuitive interface that allows you to take full control after playing around with the program for a bit and becoming acquainted with its features. Still, you may be completely new to the program and are looking for some guidance on how to execute certain tasks. That is what this tutorial intends to do, as we look at a few different options you have when it comes to formatting reports. So, before we jump into formatting a report, let's discuss some of...

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  • Wireless not working with an Atheros AR9285

    - by Neeraj
    I recently installed Ubuntu 12.04 and found my wireless card is not detected by OS. I tired to detect it by network manager but still it is not get output of the required command: toor@Linux:~$ sudo lshw -class network *-network description: Ethernet interface product: AR8131 Gigabit Ethernet vendor: Atheros Communications Inc. physical id: 0 bus info: pci@0000:03:00.0 logical name: eth0 version: c0 serial: f0:de:f1:9e:22:4d size: 100Mbit/s capacity: 1Gbit/s width: 64 bits clock: 33MHz capabilities: pm msi pciexpress vpd bus_master cap_list ethernet physical tp 10bt 10bt-fd 100bt 100bt-fd 1000bt-fd autonegotiation configuration: autonegotiation=on broadcast=yes driver=atl1c driverversion=1.0.1.0-NAPI duplex=full firmware=N/A ip=124.123.227.84 latency=0 link=yes multicast=yes port=twisted pair speed=100Mbit/s resources: irq:44 memory:f2400000-f243ffff ioport:2000(size=128) *-network UNCLAIMED description: Network controller product: AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) vendor: Atheros Communications Inc. physical id: 0 bus info: pci@0000:04:00.0 version: 01 width: 64 bits clock: 33MHz capabilities: pm msi pciexpress bus_master cap_list configuration: latency=0 resources: memory:f2500000-f250ffff and toor@Linux:~$ rfkill list all 0: ideapad_wlan: Wireless LAN Soft blocked: yes Hard blocked: no 1: ideapad_bluetooth: Bluetooth Soft blocked: yes Hard blocked: no Please let me know what more info is required to resolve it.

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  • Oracle OpenWorld 2013 Summary

    - by JuergenKress
    Did you miss the Oracle OpenWorld 2013 – here are the key information from Thomas Kurian’s middleware presentation, our partners presentations and the first impressions on SOA Suite 12c. Thanks to all partners for the excellent presentations and the product management team for the superb demo ground! Oracle OpenWorld General Session 2013: Middleware Watch Full-Length Keynote JavaOne keynote At our WebLogic Community Workspace (WebLogic Community membership required): you can download the presentation slides from Thomas Kurian’s presentation FMWGeneralSessionTKv22.pptx. Download all session slides here. WebLogic Partner Community For regular information become a member in the WebLogic Partner Community please visit: http://www.oracle.com/partners/goto/wls-emea ( OPN account required). If you need support with your account please contact the Oracle Partner Business Center. Blog Twitter LinkedIn Mix Forum Wiki Technorati Tags: OOW,ORacle OpenWorld,WebLogic 12c training,education,WebLogic,WebLogic Community,Oracle,OPN,Jürgen Kress

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  • Projectiles in tile mapped turn-based tactics game?

    - by Petteri Hietavirta
    I am planning to make a Laser Squad clone and I think I have most of the aspects covered. But the major headache is the projectiles shot/thrown. The easy way would be to figure out the probability of hit and just mark miss/hit. But I want to be able to have the projectile to hit something eventually (collateral damage!). Currently everything is flat 2D tile map and there would be full (wall, door) and half height (desk, chair, window) obstacles. My idea is to draw an imaginary line from the shooter to the target and add some horizontal&vertical error based on the player skills. Then I would trace the modified path until it hits something. This is basically what the original Laser Squad seems to do. Can you recommend any algorithms or other approaches for this?

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  • Capgemini report - Business Cloud: The State of Play Shifts Rapidly

    - by Javier Puerta
    Capgemini has published a recent survey on the state of play of cloud adoption. The report indicates "clear evidence that the business, rather than purely IT, is becoming involved in driving Cloud strategy, and pioneering its use for ‘edge’ growth initiatives."  Ron Tolido, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Applications Continental Europe at Capgemini, was one of the keynote speakers at our Exadata & Manageability Partner Community event in Istanbul in March. He is one of the drivers of this survey. Read his article "3 Key Cloud Insights for 2013". You an download the full report here:  "Business Cloud: The State of Play Shifts Rapidly - Fresh Insights into Cloud Adoption Trends"

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  • Capgemini report - Business Cloud: The State of Play Shifts Rapidly

    - by Javier Puerta
    Capgemini has published a recent survey on the state of play of cloud adoption. The report indicates "clear evidence that the business, rather than purely IT, is becoming involved in driving Cloud strategy, and pioneering its use for ‘edge’ growth initiatives."  Ron Tolido, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Applications Continental Europe at Capgemini, was one of the keynote speakers at our Exadata & Manageability Partner Community event in Istanbul in March. He is one of the drivers of this survey. Read his article "3 Key Cloud Insights for 2013". You an download the full report here:  "Business Cloud: The State of Play Shifts Rapidly - Fresh Insights into Cloud Adoption Trends"

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  • At which architecture level are you running BDD tests (e.g. Cucumber)

    - by Pete
    I have in the last year gotten quite fond of using SpecFlow (which is a .NET port of Cucumber) I have used it both to test a ASP.NET MVC application at the web layer, i.e. using browser automation, but also at the controller layer. The first gives me a higher confidence in the correctness of the application, because JavaScript is tested, and improper controller configuration is also caught. But those tests are slower to execute, and more complex to implement, than those just testing on the controller layer. My tests are full functional tests, i.e. they exercise all layers of the application, all the way down to the database. So the first thing before any scenario is that the database is cleared of data, allowing the test to assume that only data specified in the "Given" block exists. Then I see example on how to use it, where they test just exercise the model layer. So what are your experiences with these tools? Which layer of the application do you test?

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  • Oracle VM at the IOUG Virtualization SIG – Online Symposium

    - by Chris Kawalek
    Join the Oracle VM product managers and product experts for a day full of best practices and information on the latest product updates. A sampling of what you can expect: Best practices from a customer’s perspective on deployment of Oracle VM and Oracle RAC. How to simplify and accelerate the onboarding of your applications to the cloud with Oracle Virtual Assemblies and Enterprise Manager 12c. The latest how-to and demo of DeployCluster Tool on Oracle VM 3. Date: Tomorrow, November 7th, 10am CDT – 2:50pm CDT Register for this free online event today! 

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  • How can I autoclean my gnome main menu?

    - by Bruce Connor
    I like to experiment with lots of different software in my Ubuntu install. Then, every time Ubuntu reaches a new release cycle, I simply do a clean install (instead of upgrading) to get rid of all the extra software (and their respective config files/folders). The only thing I always backup and carry to the next install (besides personal files) are the config files for gnome, so my desktop is always the way I like it. =) The problem with that, is that the different packages I test out never get properly uninstalled, so my gnome main menu is full of broken links referring to software I had in previous installations (which got carried over because I kept the gnome config files). Is there any automated way to go through my gnome main menu and remove any broken links? I know how to manually edit the menu, and I could go through it myself, but I'm looking for some script or package that will clean for me so I wouldn't have to do it manually every release cycle.

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  • WebLogic Application Server: free for developers!

    - by Bruno.Borges
    Great news! Oracle WebLogic Server is now free for developers! What does this mean for you? That you as a developer are permited to: "[...] deploy the programs only on your single developer desktop computer (of any type, including physical, virtual or remote virtual), to be used and accessed by only (1) named developer." But the most interesting part of the license change is this one: "You may continue to develop, test, prototype and demonstrate your application with the programs under this license after you have deployed the application for any internal data processing, commercial or production purposes" (Read the full license agreement here) If you want to take advantage of this licensing change and start developing Java EE applications with the #1 Application Server in the world, read now the previous post, How To Install WebLogic Zip on Linux!

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  • Oracle Fusion HCM Gains Traction and Customer Recognition

    - by Scott Ewart
    Oracle Fusion HCM Gains Traction and Customer Recognition at the HRO Summit Europe in Barcelona Audience voted Oracle Fusion Human Capital Management as best in Most Reliable, Most Innovative and Best in Class. During the annual European HRO Summit in Barcelona, HRO buyers, service providers, third party advisors and other attendees were visibly impressed with the Fusion HCM product stack. Following the “present-off” among four technology vendors, Oracle was voted first in the following categories: Which technology could best suit the needs for your company Which technology do you think came across as the most reliable Which technology offers the most innovation Based on what you heard today, which technology presentation would you rate as best in class Oracle was voted second in the two other remaining categories Click here for the full article ==> http://bit.ly/sxC3tX

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  • The Best Free RSS Readers for Keeping Up With Your Favorite Websites

    - by Lori Kaufman
    RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication” or “Rich Site Summary.” It’s a document specification that allows you to easily collect and organize web-based news and information from websites. RSS reader applications allow you to follow your favorite websites without having to visit each one separately. For more information about RSS, see our article defining RSS and describing how you can benefit from using it. We’ve collected some links to good desktop and web-based, free RSS applications. 6 Ways Windows 8 Is More Secure Than Windows 7 HTG Explains: Why It’s Good That Your Computer’s RAM Is Full 10 Awesome Improvements For Desktop Users in Windows 8

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  • Have you used a Framework/Lib whose LGPL License? if yes, what are the impressions of your customers?

    - by Smarty Twiti
    I am trying to make my first app for sale, I would like to ask some questions for those who have already sold their software: Have you used a Framework/Lib whose LGPL License? if yes, what are the impressions of your customers? for example, if your customers/ competitors from the market reveal technology/secrets that you used in your solution (as LGPL requires that you make a Dynamic Link (.DLL) for your libs and you clearly tell the use of a Lib/Framework). Full story: For my project, I used a framework LGPL/commercial (Dual License) the second one it was too expensive (about 3000 USD) which pushed me to use LGPL however I still concerned. That is why I ask for advise and especially motivations.

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  • The Apple iPad &ndash; I&rsquo;m gonna get it!

    - by Sahil Malik
    Ad:: SharePoint 2007 Training in .NET 3.5 technologies (more information). Well, heck, here comes another non-techie blogpost. You know I’m a geek, so I love gadgets! I found it RATHER interesting to see all the negative news on the blogosphere about the iPad. The main bitch points are - No Multi tasking No Flash Just a bigger iPhone. So here’s the deal! My view is, the above 3 are EXACTLY what I had personally hoped for in the Apple iPad. Before the release, I had gone on the record saying - “If the Apple Tablet is able to run full fledged iTunes (so I can get rid of iTunes on my desktop, I don’t like iTunes on Windows), can browse the net, can read PDFs, and will be under $1000, I’ll buy it”. Well, so, the released iPad wasn’t exactly like my dream tablet. The biggest downer IMO was it’s inability to run full iTunes. But, really, in retrospect, I like the newly released iPad. And here is why. No Multi tasking and No Flash, means much better battery life. Frankly, I rarely multi task on my laptop/desktop .. yeah I know my OS does .. but ME – I don’t multi task, and I don’t think you do either!! As I type this blogpost, I have a few windows running behind the scenes, but they are simply waiting for me to get back to them. The only thing truly running and I am making use of, other than this blogost, is media player playing some music – which the iPad can do. Also, I am logged into IM/Email – which again, iPad can do via notifications. It does the limited multitasking I need, without chewing down on batteries. Smart thinking, precisely the reason I love the iPhone. I don’t want a bulky battery consuming machine. Lack of flash? Okay sure, I can’t see Hulu on my iPad. That’s some loss. I can see youtube. Also, per Adobe I can’t see some porn sites, which I don’t want to see on my iPad. But, Flash is heavy. Especially flash video. My dream is to see silverlight run on the iPhone and iPad. No flash = not such a big loss. Speaking of battery life – 10 hours is plenty. I haven’t been away from electricity for that long usually, so I’m okay with charging it up when it runs low. It’s really not such a big deal honestly. Finally, eBook functionality – wow! I went on the record saying, eBook readers are not for me, but seriously, the iPad is perfect for my eBook needs at least. And as far it being just a bigger iPhone? I’ve always wanted a bigger iPhone, precisely for the eBook reading experience. I love my iPhone, I love the apps on it. The only thing that sucks about the iPhone is battery life, but other than that, it is the best gadget I have ever bought! And something that runs on mobile chips, is that thin, and those newly written apps .. mail, calendar .. I am very very excited to get my iPad, which will be the 64gig 3G version. The biggest plus in an iPad ……… no contract on data. I am *hoping*, this means that I can buy a SIM card in Europe, and use the iPad here. That would be killer awesome! But hey, if I had to pick downers in the iPad, they would be - - I wish they had a 128G Version. Now that we have a good video viewing machine, I know I’d chew up space quickly.- Sync over WIFI, seriously Apple.  Both for iPhone and iPad.- 3 month wait!!- Existing iPhone users should get a discount on the iPad data plan. Comment on the article ....

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  • ACER Aspire V5-171 compatibility

    - by JamerTheProgrammer
    Im thinking about buying a V5-171 with an i3 in it. Im worried about secure boot though. I heard some people cant turn it off and it wont work... Im not shy to open it up and replace the hard drive with Ubuntu preinstalled. Im also worried about the wifi working. I have heard its been dropping out for people quite a bit along with also the trackpad not working. I dont mind replacing the wifi stick (if its even possible?) inside. Is the GPU (HD4000 i think) supported in ubuntu with full video accel? Thanks!

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  • Install Samba 3.0.24 on Ubuntu Server 10.04 from Source

    - by Nilpo
    Has anyone had any luck compiling and installing Samba 3.0.24 on Ubuntu 10.04? I'm trying to set up realtime virus scanning on Samba shares (ClamAV) using the legacy version of Samba as it is the latest release supported by samba-vscan-0.3.6b. I'm no expert at this but I think I have all of the dependencies covered and I'm following the documentation with the source code but I'm getting errors as if there is a problem with the source code. I downloaded the source directly from http://ftp.samba.org/pub/samba/stable/samba-3.0.24.tar.gz After running ./configure and make, I get the following error. Compiling client/mount.cifs.c client/mount.cifs.c: In function ‘main’: client/mount.cifs.c:1068: error: ‘PATH_MAX’ undeclared (first use in this function) client/mount.cifs.c:1068: error: (Each undeclared identifier is reported only once client/mount.cifs.c:1068: error: for each function it appears in.) make: *** [client/mount.cifs.o] Error 1 You can view the full output log here. Can anyone help me get this installed or suggest another means of implementing realtime virus scanning on Samba shares?

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  • What tools are the minimum to get started in Silverlight?

    Help me out with a bit of some research here. In your opinionwhat tools (from Microsoft) are the MINIMUM needed to get started with Silverlight? Im not talking about full-blown MVVM, MEF loading, Live Smooth Streaming applicationsIm talking about if you were to tell someone who has a bare hard drive and wanted to start learning Silverlight, what tools would you tell them they simply cannot do Hello World++ without? Please respond to my survey: Thanks! tags: silverlight, tools, riaservices,...Did you know that DotNetSlackers also publishes .net articles written by top known .net Authors? We already have over 80 articles in several categories including Silverlight. Take a look: here.

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  • Announcing a new Free Windows Azure Platform Trial offer

    - by Eric Nelson
    We now have a  truly useful Windows Azure Platform trial. Which makes me very happy as I was a vocal critic of the original trial offer. Simply put, the small number of compute hours it included made it useless for many potential early adopters. This is now fixed. The new Introductory Special now includes a generous 750 hours of compute – enough to run a web role 24/7. Enjoy! Related Links Full announcement If you are an ISV then there is a better offer for you via Microsoft Platform Ready and Cloud Essentials and keep an eye on our events for ISVs as we will be doing Windows Azure Platform technical briefings starting March 31st.

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  • Sitting Pretty

    - by Phil Factor
    Guest Editorial for Simple-Talk IT Pro newsletter'DBAs and SysAdmins generally prefer an expression of calmness under adversity. It is a subtle trick, and requires practice in front of a mirror to get it just right. Too much adversity and they think you're not coping; too much calmness and they think you're under-employed' I dislike the term 'avatar', when used to describe a portrait photograph. An avatar, in the sense of a picture, is merely the depiction of one's role-play alter-ego, often a ridiculous bronze-age deity. However, professional image is important. The choice and creation of online photos has an effect on the way your message is received and it is important to get that right. It is fine to use that photo of you after ten lagers on holiday in an Ibiza nightclub, but what works on Facebook looks hilarious on LinkedIn. My splendid photograph that I use online was done by a professional photographer at great expense and I've never had the slightest twinge of regret when I remember how much I paid for it. It is me, but a more pensive and dignified edition, oozing trust and wisdom. One gasps at the magical skill that a professional photographer can conjure up, without digital manipulation, to make the best of a derisory noggin (ed: slang for a head). Even if he had offered to depict me as a semi-naked, muscle-bound, sword-wielding hero, I'd have demurred. No, any professional person needs a carefully cultivated image that looks right. I'd never thought of using that profile shot, though I couldn't help noticing the photographer flinch slightly when he first caught sight of my face. There is a problem with using an avatar. The use of a single image doesn't express the appropriate emotion. At the moment, it is weird to see someone with a laughing portrait writing something solemn. A neutral cast to the face, somewhat like a passport photo, is probably the best compromise. Actually, the same is true of a working life in IT. One of the first skills I learned was not to laugh at managers, but, instead, to develop a facial expression that promoted a sense of keenness, energy and respect. Every profession has its own preferred facial cast. A neighbour of mine has the natural gift of a face that displays barely repressed grief. Though he is characteristically cheerful, he earns a remarkable income as a pallbearer. DBAs and SysAdmins generally prefer an expression of calmness under adversity. It is a subtle trick, and requires practice in front of a mirror to get it just right. Too much adversity and they think you're not coping; too much calmness and they think you're under-employed. With an appropriate avatar, you could do away with a lot of the need for 'smilies' to give clues as to the meaning of what you've written on forums and blogs. If you had a set of avatars, showing the full gamut of human emotions expressible in writing: Rage, fear, reproach, joy, ebullience, apprehension, exasperation, dissembly, irony, pathos, euphoria, remorse and so on. It would be quite a drop-down list on forums, but given the vast prairies of space on the average hard drive, who cares? It would cut down on the number of spats in Forums just as long as one picks the right avatar. As an unreconstructed geek, I find it hard to admit to the value of image in the workplace, but it is true. Just as we use professionals to tidy up and order our CVs and job applications, we should employ experts to enhance our professional image. After all you don't perform surgery or dentistry on yourself do you?

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  • Deliberate Practice

    - by Jeff Foster
    It’s easy to assume, as software engineers, that there is little need to “practice” writing code. After all, we write code all day long! Just by writing a little each day, we’re constantly learning and getting better, right? Unfortunately, that’s just not true. Of course, developers do improve with experience. Each time we encounter a problem we’re more likely to avoid it next time. If we’re in a team that deploys software early and often, we hone and improve the deployment process each time we practice it. However, not all practice makes perfect. To develop true expertise requires a particular type of practice, deliberate practice, the only goal of which is to make us better programmers. Everyday software development has other constraints and goals, not least the pressure to deliver. We rarely get the chance in the course of a “sprint” to experiment with potential solutions that are outside our current comfort zone. However, if we believe that software is a craft then it’s our duty to strive continuously to raise the standard of software development. This requires specific and sustained efforts to get better at something we currently can’t do well (from Harvard Business Review July/August 2007). One interesting way to introduce deliberate practice, in a sustainable way, is the code kata. The term kata derives from martial arts and refers to a set of movements practiced either solo or in pairs. One of the better-known examples is the Bowling Game kata by Bob Martin, the goal of which is simply to write some code to do the scoring for 10-pin bowling. It sounds too easy, right? What could we possibly learn from such a simple example? Trust me, though, that it’s not as simple as five minutes of typing and a solution. Of course, we can reach a solution in a short time, but the important thing about code katas is that we explore each technique fully and in a controlled way. We tackle the same problem multiple times, using different techniques and making different decisions, understanding the ramifications of each one, and exploring edge cases. The short feedback loop optimizes opportunities to learn. Another good example is Conway’s Game of Life. It’s a simple problem to solve, but try solving it in a functional style. If you’re used to mutability, solving the problem without mutating state will push you outside of your comfort zone. Similarly, if you try to solve it with the focus of “tell-don’t-ask“, how will the responsibilities of each object change? As software engineers, we don’t get enough opportunities to explore new ideas. In the middle of a development cycle, we can’t suddenly start experimenting on the team’s code base. Code katas offer an opportunity to explore new techniques in a safe environment. If you’re still skeptical, my challenge to you is simply to try it out. Convince a willing colleague to pair with you and work through a kata or two. It only takes an hour and I’m willing to bet you learn a few new things each time. The next step is to make it a sustainable team practice. Start with an hour every Friday afternoon (after all who wants to commit code to production just before they leave for the weekend?) for month and see how that works out. Finally, consider signing up for the Global Day of Code Retreat. It’s like a daylong code kata, it’s on December 8th and there’s probably an event in your area!

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