Google Animated Home Page In Korea

Google philosophy of simplicity is not working in Korea. So far, their market share in Korea is still quite small. I quite like the little coloured circled icons near the bottom of the page. Hover over it and the icons go animated!

http://www.google.co.kr/
http://searchengineland.com/070529-191555.php

The difference between a SQL Developer and a DBA

I thought the discussion is rather interesting.
http://www.experts-exchange.com/Microsoft/Development/MS-SQL-Server/SQL-Server-2005/viewQuestionPrinterFriendly.jsp?qid=22602757

Linux & Star Office 8 on Singapore Airlines Planes

Can you imagine working on your word documents on a plane? Singapore Airlines (SIA) is providing this service to passengers. This means more time to do your documents and this means no excuse of not meeting deadlines!
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2138618,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03119TX1K0000594
http://blogs.sun.com/chhandomay/entry/staroffice_8_in_singapore_airlines (With photo as proof)

Adobe ColdFusion 8 Beta Goes Public

It seems rather cool with integration with Adobe's DNA.
The last time I used CF was when it was version 4.5. There has been lots of changes since then.
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2138586,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03119TX1K0000594

GreenBorder

GreenBorder Pro keeps you safe from identity thieves and criminals by making your PC, files and personal information invisible to any Web-based threat. You can safely go to any site with IE, click any link, view or download any content and run any Internet program. It also protects you from identity theft by securing your credit card and bank information while shopping or banking online. GreenBorder creates a protective barrier that keeps all interactions with the Web away from your PC. This set & forget protection is always current and doesn't require any updates. It prevents malicious code from silently installing or seeing your files and PC resources--even new sophisticated attacks that are undetectable. You are automatically protected whether at home, at a public WiFi hotspot, or on the road. The SafeFiles option extends the protection to any file received via e-mail, IM, and USB sticks.

Version 2.9.3 supports Firefox 2.0, Internet Explorer, and older FAT32 file systems.

Official Website
http://www.greenborder.com/index.html

Download
http://www.download.com/GreenBorder-Pro-with-SafeFiles/3000-2092_4-10553088.html

From https://supportcenteronline.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=4049 , it says GreenBorder has been acquired by Google! Google is really going into serious business on security.

SQL Server 2005 DDL Trigger

How about automatically tracking and logging all database changes, including changes to tables, views, routines, queues and so on? With SQL Server 2005 it isn't that hard...
http://www.simple-talk.com/sql/sql-server-2005/sql-server-2005-ddl-trigger-workbench/

Weather Forecast

Temperature is currently at 28°C !!!
There's no wind at all and all is so calm.

I am so hot!

Tech Laggards Not Alone

Their opposites are just as easy to spot. The Laggards and Luddites are slow or reluctant to embrace new technology because they can't afford it, aren't interested in it, or actually fear and loathe it.

As a group, they are apparently much bigger than previously imagined. In a comprehensive study of how consumers use technology, the Pew Internet & American Life Project reported this month that a surprising 49 per cent of adult Americans fall into this category.

Extracted from [ http://www.thestar.com/News/article/218025 ]

Back in EE

I am back answering questions in Experts-Exchange.
It has been so long since I last attempted to answer questions.

Google Translate

I tried to translate my blog from English to Chinese Simplified and got it as below. Even though the translation is not 100% correct, the result is quite impressive. Oh ya, my name translated in Chinese is not the one from the translated result. My Chinese name is 宏俊.
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fhongjun.blogspot.com&langpair=en%7Czh-CN&hl=en&ie=UTF8

Google Translate
http://translate.google.com/translate_t?hl=en

The Singapore Flyer - Ferris Wheel

From Channel News Asia, booking is already in progress even though the ferris wheel is still under construction. The number of bookings made is so much that it would mean no more bookings can be made for the 1st 3 months of operation.

FYI, The Singapore Flyer will be ready from March 2008 onwards

Official Website
http://www.singaporeflyer.com.sg/

Pricing
http://www.singaporeflyer.com.sg/visitor_info.php

Water Spout in Singapore

What a scene!
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/278343/1/.html

Sitemap Added

I have added Sitemap to my blog.
It can be found at the right hand panel under Profile section.

I will get it updated on 1st and 15th day of every month.

Google Patents

I like Google way of previewing pages.
Click on any patent and then read a patent online.
http://www.google.com/patents

Students shocked by UNSW Singapore campus closure

I thought this is a rather irresponsible act.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/277985/1/.html

Blog Revamp Completed

Finally Tag Cloud is implemented.

PHP: Create Directory, Safe Mode Headache, etc

Many times when creating directories via script on a Linux/Unix machine can result in permission problems. Below will make sure it work provided FTP username and password provided is a user id with higher rights.

function site_mkdir($dir)
{
    if (is_dir($_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] . '/' . $dir))
    {
        return(true);
    }
 
    if (!$ftp_connection = ftp_connect('ftp.server'))
    {
        return(false);
    }
 
    if (!ftp_login($ftp_connection, 'user', 'password'))
    {
        return(false);
    }
 
    if (!ftp_chdir($ftp_connection, 'httpdocs'))
    {
        return(false);
    }
 
    $dir_list = explode('/', $dir);
    foreach ($dir_list as $current)
    {
        if ($current != '')
        {
            if (!@ftp_chdir($ftp_connection, $current))
            {
                if (!ftp_mkdir($ftp_connection, $current))
                {
                    ftp_close($ftp_connection);
                    return(false);
                }
                else
                {
                    ftp_site($ftp_connection, 'CHMOD 0777 '.$current);
                    ftp_chdir($ftp_connection, $current);
                }
            }
        }
    }
 
    ftp_close($ftp_connection);
 
    return(true);
}

It does this:

• check if the dir to create already exists; if it does, simply quit, otherwise continue
• login to my ftp server (same server as the script is running on)
• change to the base dir ($dir will use this as a base reference)
• split up $dir and walk through the list
• check if dir exists
• if not, create it
• if not, chmod it to 0777
• if exists, just continue
• closes connection

Speed is a little slower then I wanted. But when dir allready exists there is no real speed difference. So I 'solved' the speed problem by creating the dirs when I know they will be needed in the future, rather than creating them at the moment I need them.

GMail Maximum Attachment Size

GMail maximum attachment size is now 20MB.
http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=8770

JavaScript to Comply with XHTML

JavaScript to be strictly compliant with XHTML is especially if one wish to modify Blogger widget tags and add in some custom scripts.
http://www.dynamicdrive.com/style/blog/entry/updating-a-javascript-to-be-xhtml-compliant/

Enso - Humanized

Just watched Enso's Flash Demo and am quite impressed by how Enso does things.

Enso is dead simple to use. You just hold down the Caps Lock key and type an Enso command, which is displayed in a translucent overlay. Once the command is typed, you simply release the Caps Lock key to activate it, and the overlay disappears. If you type fast, it all happens in a flash. For instance, to launch the Firefox Web browser, you just hold down the Caps Lock key and type "open firefox." To look up the meaning of the word "proclivity," you just hold down the Caps Lock key and type "define proclivity."
http://www.humanized.com/

Google Trends

http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2007/05/hot-trends-in-google-search.html
http://www.google.com/trends

Microsoft Web Development Learning Series

http://www.learn2asp.net/?RefID=MSC001

Dell With Ubuntu Again?

This article says Dell may pack with Ubuntu.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2134337,00.asp?kc=PCRSS03069TX1K0001121

However, an earlier article said no.
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2126692,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03119TX1K0000594

Singapore River Raft Race

Singapore Polytechnic clean sweep once again!
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/277328/1/.html

The first time which was my last time I been to one was during Poly Year 1.

Blog Revamp Pending Task

Revamp of blog is almost completed except for 1 pending task.

1. Tag Cloud

BLOG REVAMP IN PROGRESS

I will make a posting once revamp process is completed.

Blog Layout Revamp In Progress

Just FYI

GMail To Preview PowerPoint Slides

GMail has added a new feature - "Preview PowerPoint Slide" on PowerPoint attachments.
Word + Excel + PowerPoint are now almost integrated in Google World.
http://blog.outer-court.com/archive/2007-05-16-n74.html

I am still waiting for this feature to be rolled out to my account.

Google Video Search Includes MetaCafe Videos

As illustrated by below link, Google Video has included MetaCafe (Not a Google product) in their video search result. This is on top of Google Video and YouTube.

What's interesting is the MetaCafe's video actually plays using Google Video Player and is hosted on Google! Click on "Watch Preview Here" link to play video.
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=halle+berry+british+talk+show

Picasa Web Albums Now with Slideshows

http://phydeaux3.blogspot.com/2007/05/picasa-web-albums-now-with-slideshows.html

Bidding for NDP 2007 tickets starts on Saturday

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/276840/1/.html

Those interested to attend NDP live may visit http://www.ndp.org.sg/ for balloting.

Google Revamps Search Engine

Google has just released its new Search Engine interface.

To try out, we will need to go to Google Home - http://www.google.com. To do that, we need a simple tweak since Google has not rolled out to some countries like Google SG.

How to Go to Google Home?

1. Go to http://www.google.com/ncr
2. After you have done (a), you will not be re-directed to your local Google page.

Do notice the "more" link at the top of Google page. It can be quite handy.

In fact, Google has also released a site to showcase what are the upcoming features they are currently experimenting on. I personally like their innovative "Shortcuts" feature. I find them very handy in GMail.
Google Experimental - http://www.google.com/experimental

Yahoo! Mail Rolling Out Unlimited Storage Space

My storage meter is still there. How about you?
http://yodel.yahoo.com/2007/05/14/unlimited-storage-its-coming/

Trojan.Kardphisher

This trojan attempts to steal credit card numbers
http://www.symantec.com/enterprise/security_response/weblog/2007/05/ms_needs_your_credit_card_deta.html

Too Many Things On My Mind

I am quite stressed up these few days. My brain and mind are working non-stop 24/7.

Work is stressful especially the need to come out with algorithms from nowhere. People at DSO tend to stare blankly but in fact they are deep in thoughts, always thinking on logic. People at DSO tend not to talk with one another because they are always thinking of solutions to problems. People at DSO tend to go for quick lunch and lunch time is irregular most of the time. I am becoming more and more like them now. I can feel my brain is stretching and being used 200% most of the time. I can feel my forehead is getting higher and higher day by day.

My sergeant is diagnosed with cancer. He used to take care of me when I was in army before I disrupted for studies. I must say he is a respected leader. Hope he will pull through.

A friend of mine is going through some mental "ordeal". Workload at work is piling up, grandma just passed away, and a surgery is on the way. Hope all will be over soon.

There's suppose to have a gathering with a friend this week but I kind of lazy to meet up. I guess I will just let the gathering happen itself.

There's another gathering coming soon next week with my ex-colleagues from RCL. It's going to be a KTV session. Hope next week my mind will be more relaxed.

Reservist is around the corner and very soon will be 11th June. It's my first ICT.

There are so many things happening.

Not Satisfied With Singnet's Answer

Their reply is to tell me to set manual proxies. However, AFAIK, Singnet had migrated to server-side automatic proxies years ago and so, no one will now require to set manual proxies on Internet browsers. Why are we still needed to set manual proxies?

I expect a reply to my above question.

The Freelancer's Toolset

http://www.cogniview.com/convert-pdf-to-excel/post/the-freelancers-toolset-100-web-apps-for-everything-you-will-possibly-need/

Do check out my earlier post
101 Essential Freelancing Resources

Solution for Singnet Problem on Blogspot

Manual proxy settings need to be applied on web browser.

For IE 7.0 & below:

1. Tools -> Internet Options
2. Click on "Connections" page tab
3. Click on "LAN Settings" button (if you are using Broadband)
4. Check "Use a proxy server for your LAN ..." checkbox
5. Click on "Advanced" button
6. Under HTTP type, input "proxy.singnet.com.sg" for proxy address and "8080" for port
7. Click on "OK" button 3 times to confirm changes

For FF 2.0:

1. Tools -> Options
2. Click on "Advanced" tab
3. Click on "Network" page tab
4. From the "Connection" frame, click on "Settings" button
5. Select "Manual proxy configuration" option
6. Under HTTP proxy, input "proxy.singnet.com.sg" and "8080" for port

You should be able to use Blogspot normally.

Just Sent Singnet My Feedback

Just did my part in sending Singnet the Blogger related problem.
http://home.singtel.com/customer_service/cust_serv_emailus.asp

Singapore Blogspot Connectivity Problem

http://groups.google.com/group/blogger-help-troubleshoot/browse_thread/thread/4affbb17b86e548c/

Singnet Is Causing Problems To Blogger Posting

There were some problems in making a Blogger posting for the past 4 days or so no matter what browser I was using. After some investigation by many, the culprit could be Singnet.

http://groups.google.com/group/blogger-help-troubleshoot/browse_thread/thread/e92fd9ba32e4d529?hl=en
http://groups.google.com/group/blogger-help-troubleshoot/browse_thread/thread/8b564d99cc7f78a4?hl=en

--- Quoted From a Blogger Employee ---
Hi all,

Thanks for doing continuing to update this thread - looks like you did
some good investigating! So, let me see if I've got a good
understanding of what's going on here:

- The post editor shows up in a jumbled fashion, as demonstrated by
this screenshot: http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/7907/bloggererrorca5.gif
- This happens in both Firefox and IE, but perhaps not in the outdated
IE 6
- Those who are affected are Singnet users in Singapore
- If you change the post editor's URL to "www2" instead of "www,"
you're able to get a normal post editor

Does that cover everything and sound correct? Let me know and we can
do some more investigation. Also, one person mentioned a 500 - # error
message. If you get that kind of error, would you please head over to
the following thread and answer the questions I posted there?:

http://groups.google.com/group/blogger-help-troubleshoot/msg/b4ddb1220d20314e

Thanks!
Jordan
---

Life is Unpredictable

One moment, one can be fit and healthy but the other moment, he/she might be admitted to a hospital.

One need to treasure one's life.

Wuki - The Easiest Way to Linux

Wubi is a Windows Installer for Ubuntu
http://www.cutlersoftware.com/ubuntusetup/wubi/en-US/index.html

Gathering RSS Feeds using Visual Studio and RSS.NET

http://www.simple-talk.com/dotnet/.net-tools/gathering-rss-feeds-using-visual-studio-and-rss.net/

Enhance your Website with ASP.NET AJAX Extensions

http://www.simple-talk.com/dotnet/asp.net/enhance-your-website-with-asp.net-ajax-extensions/

URL Snooper

http://www.donationcoder.com/Software/Mouser/urlsnooper/

Google Command Line Help

http://projects.felipc.com/gcl/

Microsoft + Yahoo VS Google

Would a Yahoo-Microsoft Merger Work?
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2126193,00.asp?kc=PCRSS03069TX1K0001121

Microsoft-Yahoo: Which Products Would Win?
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2126219,00.asp?kc=PCRSS03069TX1K0001121

Microsoft Live Versus Google
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2098401,00.asp

Another first for Singapore: Fastest walkers in the world

Personally, I walk pretty fast too!
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/273935/1/.html

Dell to choose Ubuntu

I have been hearing about Ubuntu since last year. I heard it from my RCL colleagues, the net, etc and no doubt Ubuntu is on the rise and is now one of the most popular flavours of Linux.
http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS8661763902.html

300 Free 3D Icons

It's free!
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Clear