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  • How much it will cost to create tile-set similar to HoM&M 2?

    - by Alexey Petrushin
    How much it will cost to create tile-set similar to HoM&M 2? I'm mostly interested in the tile-set graphics only, no animation needed, the big images of town and creatures can be done as quick and dirty pensil sketches. The quality of tiles and its amount should be roughly the same as in HoM&M 2. Can You please give a rough estimate how much it will take man-hours and how much will it cost?

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  • Media keys play/pause globally worked in 12.10, not in 13.10

    - by Stéphane Gourichon
    Laptop media keys On Asus n55sf laptop, there are a dedicated keys for volume up, volume down, mute, [play/pause], stop, launch (plus a dozen Fn-key combinations). In 12.10 most worked. (Overall is seems unrelated to desktop environment used, stating it for the sake of completeness.) On Ubuntu 12.10 under XFCE they just worked. That is: when a player like rhythmbox or totem was started, it would alternate between play and pause. Interestingly, if several were started, they would alternate independently. E.g. use mouse to pause rhythmbox, launch totem, and one hit on [play/pause] key would pause one and resume the other. Keys Next,Previous and Stop worked as expected in any program. In 13.10 most still work, but play/skip related ignored. On Xubuntu 13.10 (XFCE too) the volume keys work but the [play/pause], stop, next and prev are ignored. Not tried regular Ubuntu 13.10 (Unity). Search before you ask Here are a few facts: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Hotkeys/Architecture is ummutable and mentions Ubuntu 9.10. https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Hotkeys/Troubleshooting is also outdated as it mentions /usr/share/doc/udev/README.keymap.txt which no longer exists. On 12.10 and 13.10 versions, at XFCE level (as visible by xfconf-query or using xfce4-settings-manager) there are a couple of shortcut for keys like XF86Calculator or XF86TouchpadToggle but nothing related to volume prev/next/play/stop, which is okay. XF86Audio substring doesn't appear in /etc (which is normal) Kernel-level test: "showkey -s" on console shows that keys Next,Play/Pause,Previous,Stop are keycodes 163,164,165,166. Nothing relevant in /etc about that. Reports https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/udev/+bug/1072371 and https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/systemd/+bug/1012365 suggest to adjust at udev level. Alas, the udev tutorials I found ( e.g. https://wiki.debian.org/udev ) don't even mention keyboard. A thread in french seems to deal with a similar issue: https://forum.ubuntu-fr.org/viewtopic.php?id=1395051. @sudo evtest /dev/input/event3@, in X as well as on plain console, reports events on key pressed and repeats, but nothing when pressing those media keys. Is udev a dead end ? Questions How did it work in 12.10 ? Through udev ? Something else ? Any other hint ?

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  • How can I estimate cost of creating tile-set similar to HoM&M 2?

    - by Alexey Petrushin
    How to estimate cost of creating tile-set similar to HoM&M 2? I'm mostly interested in the tile-set graphics only, no animation needed, the big images of town and creatures can be done as quick and dirty pensil sketches. The quality of tiles and its amount should be roughly the same as in HoM&M 2. Can You please give a rough estimate how much it will take man-hours and how much will it cost?

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  • Intel Xeon E5 (Sandy Bridge-EP) and SQL Server 2012 Benchmarks

    - by jchang
    Intel officially announced the Xeon E5 2600 series processor based on Sandy Bridge-EP variant with upto 8 cores and 20MB LLC per socket. Only one TPC benchmark accompanied product launch, summary below. Processors Cores per Frequency Memory SQL Vendor TPC-E 2 x Xeon E5-2690 8 2.9GHz 512GB (16x32GB) 2012 IBM 1,863.23 2 x Xeon E7-2870 10 2.4GHz 512GB (32x16GB) 2008R2 IBM 1,560.70 2 x Xeon X5690 6 3.46GHz 192GB (12x16GB) 2008R2 HP 1,284.14 Note: the HP report lists SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition...(read more)

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  • Language Club

    - by Ben Griswold
    We started a language club at work this week.  Thus far, we have a collective interest in a number of languages: Python, Ruby, F#, Erlang, Objective-C, Scala, Clojure, Haskell and Go. There are more but these 9 received the most votes. During the first few meetings we are going to determine which language we should tackle first. To help make our selection, each member will provide a quick overview of their favored language by answering the following set of questions: Why are you interested in learning “your” language(s). (There’s lots of work, I’m an MS shill, It’s hip and  fun, etc) What type of language is it?  (OO, dynamic, functional, procedural, declarative, etc) What types of problems is your language best suited to solve?  (Algorithms over big data, rapid application development, modeling, merely academic, etc) Can you provide examples of where/how it is being used?  If it isn’t being used, why not?  (Erlang was invented at Ericsson to provide an extremely fault tolerant, concurrent system.) Quick history – Who created/sponsored the language?  When was it created?  Is it currently active? Does the language have hardware support (an attempt was made at one point to create processor instruction sets specific to Prolog), or can it run as an interpreted language inside another language (like Ruby in the JVM)? Are there facilities for programs written in this language to communicate with other languages?  How does this affect its utility? Does the language have a IDE tool support?  (Think Eclipse or Visual Studio) How well is the language supported in terms of books, community and documentation? What’s the number one things which differentiates the language from others?  (i.e. Why is it cool?) How is the language applicability to us as consultants?  What would the impact be of using the language in terms of cost, maintainability, personnel costs, etc.? What’s the number one things which differentiates the language from others?  (i.e. Why is it cool?) This should provide an decent introduction into nearly a dozen languages and give us enough context to decide which single language deserves our undivided attention for the weeks to come.  Stay tuned for the winner…

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  • SQL SERVER – Weekly Series – Memory Lane – #050

    - by Pinal Dave
    Here is the list of selected articles of SQLAuthority.com across all these years. Instead of just listing all the articles I have selected a few of my most favorite articles and have listed them here with additional notes below it. Let me know which one of the following is your favorite article from memory lane. 2007 Executing Remote Stored Procedure – Calling Stored Procedure on Linked Server In this example we see two different methods of how to call Stored Procedures remotely.  Connection Property of SQL Server Management Studio SSMS A very simple example of the how to build connection properties for SQL Server with the help of SSMS. Sample Example of RANKING Functions – ROW_NUMBER, RANK, DENSE_RANK, NTILE SQL Server has a total of 4 ranking functions. Ranking functions return a ranking value for each row in a partition. All the ranking functions are non-deterministic. T-SQL Script to Add Clustered Primary Key Jr. DBA asked me three times in a day, how to create Clustered Primary Key. I gave him following sample example. That was the last time he asked “How to create Clustered Primary Key to table?” 2008 2008 – TRIM() Function – User Defined Function SQL Server does not have functions which can trim leading or trailing spaces of any string at the same time. SQL does have LTRIM() and RTRIM() which can trim leading and trailing spaces respectively. SQL Server 2008 also does not have TRIM() function. User can easily use LTRIM() and RTRIM() together and simulate TRIM() functionality. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-hhApy6MHM 2009 Earlier I have written two different articles on the subject Remove Bookmark Lookup. This article is as part 3 of original article. Please read the first two articles here before continuing reading this article. Query Optimization – Remove Bookmark Lookup – Remove RID Lookup – Remove Key Lookup Query Optimization – Remove Bookmark Lookup – Remove RID Lookup – Remove Key Lookup – Part 2 Query Optimization – Remove Bookmark Lookup – Remove RID Lookup – Remove Key Lookup – Part 3 Interesting Observation – Query Hint – FORCE ORDER SQL Server never stops to amaze me. As regular readers of this blog already know that besides conducting corporate training, I work on large-scale projects on query optimizations and server tuning projects. In one of the recent projects, I have noticed that a Junior Database Developer used the query hint Force Order; when I asked for details, I found out that the basic concept was not properly understood by him. Queries Waiting for Memory Allocation to Execute In one of the recent projects, I was asked to create a report of queries that are waiting for memory allocation. The reason was that we were doubtful regarding whether the memory was sufficient for the application. The following query can be useful in similar cases. Queries that do not have to wait on a memory grant will not appear in the result set of following query. 2010 Quickest Way to Identify Blocking Query and Resolution – Dirty Solution As the title suggests, this is quite a dirty solution; it’s not as elegant as you expect. However, it works totally fine. Simple Explanation of Data Type Precedence While I was working on creating a question for SQL SERVER – SQL Quiz – The View, The Table and The Clustered Index Confusion, I had actually created yet another question along with this question. However, I felt that the one which is posted on the SQL Quiz is much better than this one because what makes that more challenging question is that it has a multiple answer. Encrypted Stored Procedure and Activity Monitor I recently had received questionable if any stored procedure is encrypted can we see its definition in Activity Monitor.Answer is - No. Let us do a quick test. Let us create following Stored Procedure and then launch the Activity Monitor and check the text. Indexed View always Use Index on Table A single table can have maximum 249 non clustered indexes and 1 clustered index. In SQL Server 2008, a single table can have maximum 999 non clustered indexes and 1 clustered index. It is widely believed that a table can have only 1 clustered index, and this belief is true. I have some questions for all of you. Let us assume that I am creating view from the table itself and then create a clustered index on it. In my view, I am selecting the complete table itself. 2011 Detecting Database Case Sensitive Property using fn_helpcollations() I received a question on how to determine the case sensitivity of the database. The quick answer to this is to identify the collation of the database and check the properties of the collation. I have previously written how one can identify database collation. Once you have figured out the collation of the database, you can put that in the WHERE condition of the following T-SQL and then check the case sensitivity from the description. Server Side Paging in SQL Server CE (Compact Edition) SQL Server Denali is coming up with new T-SQL of Paging. I have written about the same earlier.SQL SERVER – Server Side Paging in SQL Server Denali – A Better Alternative,  SQL SERVER – Server Side Paging in SQL Server Denali Performance Comparison, SQL SERVER – Server Side Paging in SQL Server Denali – Part2 What is very interesting is that SQL Server CE 4.0 have the same feature introduced. Here is the quick example of the same. To run the script in the example, you will have to do installWebmatrix 4.0 and download sample database. Once done you can run following script. Why I am Going to Attend PASS Summit Unite 2011 The four-day event will be marked by a lot of learning, sharing, and networking, which will help me increase both my knowledge and contacts. Every year, PASS Summit provides me a golden opportunity to build my network as well as to identify and meet potential customers or employees. 2012 Manage Help Settings – CTRL + ALT + F1 This is very interesting read as my daughter once accidently came across a screen in SQL Server Management Studio. It took me 2-3 minutes to figure out how she has created the same screen. Recover the Accidentally Renamed Table “I accidentally renamed table in my SSMS. I was scrolling very fast and I made mistakes. It was either because I double clicked or clicked on F2 (shortcut key for renaming). However, I have made the mistake and now I have no idea how to fix this. If you have renamed the table, I think you pretty much is out of luck. Here are few things which you can do which can give you an idea about what your table name can be if you are lucky. Identify Numbers of Non Clustered Index on Tables for Entire Database Here is the script which will give you numbers of non clustered indexes on any table in entire database. Identify Most Resource Intensive Queries – SQL in Sixty Seconds #029 – Video Here is the complete complete script which I have used in the SQL in Sixty Seconds Video. Thanks Harsh for important Tip in the comment. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kDHC_Tjrns Advanced Data Quality Services with Melissa Data – Azure Data Market For the purposes of the review, I used a database I had in an Excel spreadsheet with name and address information. Upon a cursory inspection, there are miscellaneous problems with these records; some addresses are missing ZIP codes, others missing a city, and some records are slightly misspelled or have unparsed suites. With DQS, I can easily add a knowledge base to help standardize my values, such as for state abbreviations. But how do I know that my address is correct? Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com) Filed under: Memory Lane, PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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  • vi issue in SSH TTYs to Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS

    - by Steve Campbell
    After upgrading my server to Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS, I can no longer use the vi editor to edit anything in an SSH terminal (I access the server by launching ssh sessions from Cygwin running on Windows). The empty portions of the vi window fill with garbage. The workaround is to launch an xterm from the server back to my Cygwin/X display. Using vi from within the xterm works fine. Setting my TERM to vt100/vt220/xterm does not help.

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  • Stupid Geek Tricks: Manage Your SkyDrive Through the Command Line

    - by Taylor Gibb
    Originally launched as an April Fools prank by the Microsoft SkyDrive team, SkyCMD turned out to be a really geeky way to manage files and folders on your SkyDrive from the command line. Lets take a quick look. The Best Free Portable Apps for Your Flash Drive Toolkit How to Own Your Own Website (Even If You Can’t Build One) Pt 3 How to Sync Your Media Across Your Entire House with XBMC

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  • Integrating Facebook Comments into your DotNetNuke Pages

    - by Chris Hammond
    Last week Facebook announced a new feature that websites can use to get Facebook Comments onto their web pages . I thought this was interesting as I have a few car racing sites that are using Forums, but also have the DNNSimpleArticle module for main page content. The forums are active, but the DNNSimpleArticle module doesn’t allow for comments as of right now (or in the foreseeable future) so I started to look into the Facebook comments a bit. From a quick read of their blog post/announcement it...(read more)

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  • Users Sound Off on Droid Android 2.1 Update Delay

    <b>Enterprise Mobile Today:</b> "The delayed Android 2.1 update for the Motorola Droid is starting to tarnish the successful launch of Verizon's first smartphone to run on Google's open source mobile operating system, according to posts at Motorola's Facebook page."

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  • fastest flavor of linux for netbook / laptop

    - by Joe
    Hello, Is Ubuntu the best OS for an uber lightweight quick to boot setup for a laptop / netbook? I have a laptop and I'm just looking for the best OS for watching movies / tv shows while traveling. I'm using windows 7 right now so ideally I'd like a barebones fast linux dual booted that uses less battery etc while traveling. I'm not looking for miracles in battery savings but it would be great if I could squeeze an extra 20 minutes out of it. Any suggestions?

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  • Add a non-Google Tasks List to Chrome

    - by Asian Angel
    Most people rely on a task list to help them remember what they need to do but not everyone wants one that is tied to a Google account. If you have been wanting an independent tasks list then join us as we look at the Tasks extension for Google Chrome. Tasks in Action As soon as you have finished installing the extension you are ready to start adding new tasks to your list. Enter your task into the “Text Area” and press “Enter” to add the task to the list. Note: Your tasks list will be retained (in the order you set) when you close and then reopen your browser. In just moments you can have your task list ready to go. Notice that there is also a “numerical indicator” attached to the “Toolbar Button” so that you will always know how many tasks you have left to complete. You can use the “drag and drop” function to rearrange your list into a more proper order if needed. When you are finished with a task all that you will need to do is click on the “Checkmark” to remove it from the list. If you need to make a new entry similar to an existing one simply right click and the text is automatically pasted into the “Text Area”. Make any desired changes and press “Enter” to add your new task to the list. Prefer to skip using the drop-down window? Click on “Tasks” at the top to open your list in a new tab instead. The tasks list looked very nice in our new tab. Being able to use the style that best suits your needs makes this a very convenient extension. Conclusion The Tasks extension is a perfect fit for anyone who needs a tasks list available but does not want to be tied down with an online account. Quick, simple and best of all hassle free. Links Download the Tasks extension (Google Chrome Extensions) Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Turn Chrome’s New Tab Page into a Google Tasks PageAccess Google Tasks in Chrome the Easy WayHow to Make Google Chrome Your Default BrowserAdd a To-Do List to Chrome’s New Tab PageAccess Remember The Milk in Google Chrome the Easy Way TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 PCmover Professional Test Drive Mobile Phones Online With TryPhone Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day, 3/23/10 New Stinger from McAfee Helps Remove ‘FakeAlert’ Threats Google Apps Marketplace: Tools & Services For Google Apps Users Get News Quick and Precise With Newser Scan for Viruses in Ubuntu using ClamAV

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  • Using SQL Sentry Plan Explorer

    - by fatherjack
    LiveJournal Tags: How To,SSMS,Tips and tricks,Execution Plans This is a quick tip that I hope will help you use SQL Sentry's Plan Explorer tool. It's a really great tool for viewing Execution Plans - something that SSMS isn't too great at. If you don't have the tool then you can download it for free from http://www.sqlsentry.net/plan-explorer/sql-server-query-view.asp. So, just a little setup is required before I can show you the tip in full. Create a directory on your Desktop called Execution...(read more)

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  • 'Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)' while trying to run Steam

    - by Star Diamond
    I installed steam for ubuntu , so I tried to launch it and i get this : ~$ steam Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1352224866_client) ~$ lsb_release -a No LSB modules are available. Distributor ID: Ubuntu Description: Ubuntu 12.10 Release: 12.10 Codename: quantal ~$ lspci | grep VGA 00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 09) 01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI Whistler XT [AMD Radeon HD 6700M Series] (rev ff) What is the problem and how to fix it?

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  • T-SQL Tuesday # 16 : This is not the aggregate you're looking for

    - by AaronBertrand
    This week, T-SQL Tuesday is being hosted by Jes Borland ( blog | twitter ), and the theme is " Aggregate Functions ." When people think of aggregates, they tend to think of MAX(), SUM() and COUNT(). And occasionally, less common functions such as AVG() and STDEV(). I thought I would write a quick post about a different type of aggregate: string concatenation. Even going back to my classic ASP days, one of the more common questions out in the community has been, "how do I turn a column into a comma-separated...(read more)

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  • Convert DVDs and ISO Files to MKV with MakeMKV

    - by DigitalGeekery
    Looking for a quick and easy way to convert your DVDs or ISOs to MKV files? Today we take a look at the MakeMKV Beta which gets the job done very well. Installing and Using MakeMKV Download and install MakeMKV (See download link below) If converting a DVD, place it into your optical drive. When you open MakeMKV you will be greeted by it’s minimalistic interface. Click on the DVD to hard drive button to open the DVD, or the folder icon on the top menu to browse for an ISO file.   MakeMKV will open the disc or file. Once the disc or file is opened, you’ll see the titles listed in the window on the left. Double-click on the titles to expand the tree structure.   Remove any title or tracks you don’t want to convert by unselecting the check box to the left. On the right side of the window, click the folder icon to select browse for your file output directory. When ready, click the MakeMkv button to begin the conversion process.   Conversion will proceed.   When the conversion is finished. Click OK. That’s all there is to it! Your MKV file is ready to play. Conclusion MakeMKV is currently still in beta and during the beta phase it will rip both DVD and Blu-ray for free. However, the DVD ripping functionality will always remain free. After 30 days if you want to continue ripping Blu-ray discs, you’ll need to purchase a license. DVD rips are very quick…typically around 15-20 minutes depending on the length of the movie. MakeMKV is available for Windows, Mac, Linux and will rip and convert DVDs to MKV files. Not all media players natively support MKV playback, so if you’re having trouble playing MKV files, try downloading VLC Media player, or the latest version of the DivX codec. Download MakeMKV Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips How To Rip DVDs with VLCEasily Change Audio File Formats with XRECODEHow To Convert Video Files to MP3 with VLCConvert PDF Files to Word Documents and Other FormatsConvert DVD to MP4 / H.264 with HD Decrypter and Handbrake TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 Office 2010 Product Guides Google Maps Place marks – Pizza, Guns or Strip Clubs Monitor Applications With Kiwi LocPDF is a Visual PDF Search Tool Download Free iPad Wallpapers at iPad Decor Get Your Delicious Bookmarks In Firefox’s Awesome Bar

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  • Big Update for the Project Rosetta Site

    We just shipped a major update to the Project Rosetta site, including a new a series of Flash to Silverlight tutorials, an updated API Guide with a quick reference list and a full list of recommended tools, code samples, and frameworks to download....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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  • SOA Management in 3 minutes - Video explainer

    - by J Swaroop
    Today’s CIOs and IT executives face challenges that take valuable time away from more strategic business objectives. They have to keep their systems running 24/7, manage increasingly complex applications, and more as part of their SOA environment. Watch this quick 3 minute video explainer to learn how Oracle EM Management Pack Plus for SOA is engineered to deliver value right out of the box with a fully centralized management console - with a rich set of service and system level dashboards, administrators can view service levels for key business processes and SOA infrastructure components from a central location. Watch the 3 minute video explainer

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  • VS 2010 ALM Whitepapers &ndash; link from Neno Loje

    - by johndoucette
    Overview of Visual Studio ALM Whitepapers by Microsoft Overview Visual Studio 2010 Quick Reference Guidance Installation, Configuration & Administration Team Foundation Installation Guide for Visual Studio Team System 2010 Administration Guide for Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Team Foundation Server Visual Studio 2010 TFS Upgrade Guide Visual Studio 2010 and Team Foundation Server 2010 VM Factory TFS Integration Platform Visual Studio 2010 Licensing White Paper Requirements Visual Studio 2010 Team Foundation Server Requirements Management Guidance Version Control & Configuration Management Visual Studio TFS Branching Guide 2010 Some guide or whitepaper missing? Let me know!

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  • The polls are closed!!

    Greetings Everyone, This is just a quick note to let you know that the election for the two OpenSocial Board Community Representatives is now officially closed. We will...

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  • Tab Sweep: Email, AntClassLoader, CouchBase Manager, Memory Usage, ...

    - by arungupta
    Recent Tips and News on Java, Java EE 6, GlassFish & more : • Java, GlassFish v3, High CPU and Memory Usage, Locked Threads, Death (Gregor Bowie) • Why I will continue to use Spring *and* Java EE in new Enterprise Java Projects in 2012/2013 (Nikos Maravitsas) • The Most Frequently Asked Question About Java EE 6 & NetBeans (Geertjan) • AntClassLoader bug exposed by forgetful NetBeans (Vince) • Quick Fix for GlassFish/MySQL NoPasswordCredential Found (Mark Heckler) • Sending email via Glassfish v3 (Zbynek Šlajchrt) • COUCHBASE MANAGER FOR GLASSFISH: MORE TESTS (Ricky Poderi)

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  • Is monkeypatching considered good programming practice?

    - by vartec
    I've been under impression, that monkeypatching is more in quick and dirty hack category, rather than standard, good programming practice. While I'd used from time to time to fix minor issues with 3rd party libs, I considered it temporary fix and I'd submit proper patch to the 3rd party project. However, I've seen this technique used as "the normal way" in mainstream projects, for example in Gevent's gevent.monkey module. Has monkeypatching became mainstream, normal, acceptable programming practice? See also: "Monkeypatching For Humans" by Jeff Atwood

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  • Pet Peeves with the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace

    - by Bil Simser
    Have you ever noticed how something things just gnaw at your very being. This is the case with the WP7 marketplace, the Zune software, and the things that drive me batshit crazy with a side of fries. To go. I wanted to share. XBox Live is Not the Centre of the Universe Okay, it’s fine that the Zune software has an XBox live tag for games so can see them clearly but do we really need to have it shoved down our throats. On every click? Click on Games in the marketplace: The first thing that it defaults to on the filters on the right is XBox Live: Okay. Fine. However if you change it (say to Paid) then click onto a title when you come back from that title is the filter still set to Paid? No. It’s back to XBox Live again. Really? Give us a break. If you change to any filter on any other genre then click on the selected title, it doesn’t revert back to anything. It stays on the selection you picked. Let’s be fair here. The Games genre should behave just like every other one. If I pick Paid then when I come back to the list please remember that. Double Dipping On the subject of XBox Live titles, Microsoft (and developers who have an agreement with Microsoft to produce Live titles, which generally rules out indie game developers) is double dipping with regards to exposure of their titles. Here’s the Puzzle and Trivia Game section on the Marketplace for XBox Live titles: And here’s the same category filtered on Paid titles: See the problem? Two indie titles while the rest are XBox Live ones. So while XBL has it’s filter, they also get to showcase their wares in the Paid and Free filters as well. If you’re going to have an XBox Live filter then use it and stop pushing down indie titles until they’re off the screen (on some genres this is already the case). Free and Paid titles should be just that and not include XBox Live ones. If you’re really stoked that people can’t find the Free XBox Live titles vs. the paid ones, then create a Free XBox Live filter and a Paid XBox Live filter. I don’t think we would mind much. Whose Trial is it Anyways? You might notice apps in the marketplace with titles like “My Fart App Professional Lite” or “Silicon Lamb Spleen Builder Free”. When you submit and app to the marketplace it can either be free or paid. If it’s a paid app you also have the option to submit it with Trial capabilities. It’s up to you to decide what you offer in the trial version but trial versions can be purchased from within the app so after someone trys out your app (for free) and wants to unlock the Super Secret Obama Spy Ring Level, they can just go to the marketplace from your app (if you built that functionality in) and upgrade to the paid version. However it creates a rift of sorts when it comes to visibility. Some developers go the route of the paid app with a trial version, others decide to submit *two* apps instead of one. One app is the “Free” or “Lite” verions and the other is the paid version. Why go to the hassle of submitting two apps when you can just create a trial version in the same app? Again, visibility. There’s no way to tell Paid apps with Trial versions and ones without (it’s an option, you don’t have to provide trial versions, although I think it’s a good idea). However there is a way to see the Free apps from the Paid ones so some submit the two apps and have the Free version have links to buy the paid one (again through the Marketplace tasks in the API). What we as developers need for visibility is a new filter. Trial. That’s it. It would simply filter on Paid apps that have trial capabilities and surface up those apps just like the free ones. If Microsoft added this filter to the marketplace, it would eliminate the need for people to submit their “Free” and “Lite” versions and make it easier for the developer not to have to maintain two systems. I mean, is it really that hard? Can’t be any more difficult than the XBox Live Filter that’s already there. Location is Everything The last thing on my bucket list is about location. When I launch Zune I’m running in my native location setting, Canada. What’s great is that I navigate to the Travel Tools section where I have one of my apps and behold the splendour that I see: There are my apps in the number 1 and number 4 slot for top selling in that category. I show it to my wife to make up for the sleepless nights writing this stuff and we dance around and celebrate. Then I change my location on my operation system to United States and re-launch Zune. WTF? My flight app has slipped to the 10th spot (I’m only showing 4 across here out of the 7 in Zune) and my border check app that was #1 is now in the 32nd spot! End of celebration. Not only is relevance being looked at here, I value the comments people make on may apps as do most developers. I want to respond to them and show them that I’m listening. The next version of my border app will provide multiple camera angles. However when I’m running in my native Canada location, I only see two reviews. Changing over to United States I see fourteen! While there are tools out there to provide with you a unified view, I shouldn’t have to rely on them. My own Zune desktop software should allow me to see everything. I realize that some developers will submit an app and only target it for some locations and that’s their choice. However I shouldn’t have to jump through hoops to see what apps are ahead of mine, or see people comments and ratings. Another proposal. Either unify the marketplace (i.e. when I’m looking at it show me everything combined) or let me choose a filter. I think the first option might be difficult as you’re trying to average out top selling apps across all markets and have to deal with some apps that have been omitted from some markets. Although I think you could come up with a set of use cases that would handle that, maybe that’s too much work. At the very least, let us developers view the markets in a drop down or something from within the Zune desktop. Having to shut down Zune, change our location, and re-launch Zune to see other perspectives is just too onerous. A Call to Action These are just one mans opinion. Do you agree? Disagree? Feel hungry for a bacon sandwich? Let everyone know via the comments below. Perhaps someone from Microsoft will be reading and take some of these ideas under advisement. Maybe not, but at least let’s get the word out that we really want to see some change. Egypt can do it, why not WP7 developers!

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