2013 In Review (In Short)

#2013 in review:- Work) Little change » Status quo. Life) Pursued » Achieved. I know #2014 will be very different.

Video guide on the Marina Coastal Expressway

"White Christmas" (original version), being played on radio for 1st time in 1942 for World War II comrades

Convert Any Files to PDF

One common question many asked is "How can I actually convert a document or even image to a PDF file?". In some of my earlier articles, I wrote about converting a webpage into a PDF without installing any tool [option 1, option 2] and also manipulating existing PDF file(s) like merging, splitting, etc with an absolutely free tool.

Today, I just chanced upon toPDF. toPDF provides the capability to convert text documents, presentations, spreadsheets and images to PDF format. Some of its attractiveness include free service and needless to install any tool onto your PC since it is web-based. This free service supports up to 5 files (25Mb max).

10 Tips For An Effective User Experience UX Debrief Meeting

How should one conduct an effective user experience (UX) debrief meeting such that all stakeholders in the team can benefit from and do better in the next round? Userfocus offers 10 practitioner tips for running an effective UX debrief meeting.

1. Don’t wing it. Prepare thoroughly. Have a plan.
2. Don’t think of the debrief as a wrap-up meeting — think of it as a springboard to the next step. And make sure UX is part of the next step.
3. Co-chair the meeting with a lead member of the project team.
4. Make sure the main decision-makers attend.
5. Don't give a PowerPoint presentation, and don’t rehash the report. If you have 60 minutes talk for 20 minutes, then discuss for 40 minutes.
6. Insist that attendees must read the report and prepare comments and questions.
7. Before you summarize the study findings, ask the team to share what they learned from the study, what surprised them and what usability issues they feel are most important or most serious.
8. Simplify your message. Focus on just the 5 most severe usability problems. Don’t overwhelm the team by trying to cover everything (they can check the report for those details).
9. Get consensus on the problems rather than argue over solutions.
10. Don’t expect or insist that everything must be fixed. Focus next steps on things that can realistically be changed within the budget and timeline.

» The UX debrief: A tale of two meetings | Userfocus

Comprehensive and Complete Guide to Facebook Ads

Read The Complete Guide to Getting Started with Facebook Ads by Buffer Blog. Very comprehensive.

Security Practices When Making Calls to Server From Client Side

With HTML5 getting more widely adopted and more application logic done on client side, better (a different type) security should be considered to mitigate risk. Nettuts+ discussed some of the measures that can be deployed for just that. The topics are:

• Don’t Even Think About HTTP
• Make XSS Less Harmful With Content Security Policy
• Use Cross Origin Resource Sharing Instead of JSONP
• Sandbox Potentially Harmful Iframes

» Client-Side Security Best Practices | Nettuts+

Outlook.com launches automated tool to migrate from Gmail

Microsoft is continuing its attack on Google by launching an automated tool to migrate Gmail to its very own web-based Outlook.com (successor of hotmail.com).

The blog post claims emails, contacts, labels and even calendars can be imported. Immediately after the import is completed, Microsoft will send an email notification to your inbox.

Though I am not a fan of Outlook.com, I thought I should give the tool a try one day for curiosity sake.

The Essentials of Writing High Quality JavaScript

Nettuts+ wrote an article on some of the essentials of writing high quality JavaScript. It is largely based on a book "JavaScript Patterns" written by Stoyan Stefanov. Though lengthy, I strongly recommend it.

Happy Birthday from Google

The birthday doodle from Google is in fact same as last year's.

HtmlEncode and HtmlDecode In JavaScript

In web development, we often need to encode a string especially input from user so data with potential malicious intention when displayed will be safe. On server side, we can use e.g. HtmlUtility.HtmlEncode (in ASP.NET for encode) and HtmlUtility.HtmlDecode (in ASP.NET for decode).

What if we need one in JavaScript? Here's how to do just that!

<script src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.9.1/jquery.min.js"></script>

<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
<!--
    function htmlEncode(value) {
        return $('<div/>').text(value).html();
    }

    function htmlDecode(value) {
        return $('<div/>').html(value).text();
    }

    var s = "<b>hello's world</b>";
    var encoded = htmlEncode(s);
    var decoded = htmlDecode(encoded);

    alert(encoded);
    alert(decoded);
//-->
</script>

How to give your Web apps a real speed boost?

Few tips published on the The Next Web on how to speed up your website and making sure user experience is not impacted especially on mobile.

1. Check for unnecessary or oversized images
2. Don't ignore Android
3. Consistent measurement
4. Multitask

The article also introduced a few tools to get you started.

Time Saver Generation Tool to Create Java Classes From JSON Data

An easy time-saver to create Java classes from JSON data, this JSON generation tool is certain to save you loads of time. All it needs is to feed in a JSON url and DONE!

» An easy timesaver to create Java classes from JSON data | IT World

Over 500 Free Programming Books from GitHub

Very long list of free programming books for download on GitHub.

Free ebook: Introducing Windows 8.1 for IT Professionals

Free ebook on Windows 8.1 from Microsoft themselves. Visit ebook page now.

This Visual Guide Outlines How Men's Suits Should Fit

A visual guide on what how men's suits should fit so it look fit and neither too small nor big. A good general knowledge.

Use Google Analytics to Track Outgoing Gmail Messages

Very creative use of Google Analytics to track outgoing Gmail messages.

Generate VCard as QR Code Using Google Docs

Should you have lots of contacts to be imported into your phone, it can get pretty time consuming to input one at a time. One time saving tip is to have them entered into a spreadsheet and have them converted into VCard format. Google Docs does have a feature to generate VCard as QR Code which you may then use any QR Code reader to read them.

This article demonstrates exactly just how to do that.

A quick summary:

1. Create a new Google Spreadsheet
   
   
2. Setup 5 columns i.e. First Name, Last Name, Phone, Contacts, QR Code.
   
   
3. First 4 columns should be self-explanatory. As for the last column, it shall be a formula to generate QR Code. Copy and paste below formula.
   
   =image("https://chart.googleapis.com/chart?chs=200x200&cht=qr&chl=BEGIN:VCARD%0AN:" & A2 & "%20" & B2 & "%0ATEL;CELL:" & C2 & "%0AEMAIL:" & D2 & "%0AEND:VCARD")

Hope it helps.

What is "Exit Rate" and "Bounce Rate"?

Exit rate

The number of times a visitor leaves your domain from a page, divided by that page’s total views. Generally expressed as a percentage.

Bounce rate

The number of times a visitor enters a domain on a page but leaves before viewing any other page in the domain, divided by the total number of views of that page. Also generally expressed as a percentage.

Responsive Design for Websites and Email

Some interesting articles from the Smashing Mobile website on Responsive Design for websites. As a value-add read, I also included repsonsive email design below.

• Creating High-Performance Mobile Websites
  
  
• Responsive Navigation On Complex Websites
  
  
• Responsive Image Container: A Way Forward For Responsive Images?
  
  
• Addressing The Responsive Images Performance Problem: A Case Study
  
  
• True Responsive Email Design Finally Made Possible

Understanding Various Image File Types for Web Site

HTML5 Rocks Tutorials published an interesting article on Image Compression for Web Developers, doing detailed explanation and comparison on the various popular image file types for website. It's worth the read.

» Image Compression for Web Developers | HTML5 Rocks

Introducing iPhone 5c

Introducing iPhone 5s

The new Touch ID fingerprint identity sensor

The all-new iSight camera

Samsung GALAXY Note 3 + Gear : Official First Hands-on

Introducing Samsung GALAXY Note 3

Basically sums up everything.

Lengthy but awesome biography on Marissa Mayer

An unauthorised biography featuring former Googler and now CEO of Yahoo!, Marissa Mayer, published by Business Insider, is a MUST read! The write-up pretty much summarised Mayer's personality as well as her brilliance that make her who she is today.

Read the biography here.

10 Steve Jobs videos you should watch instead of Ashton Kutcher’s ‘Jobs’

Sorry to say this - I actually read several reviews that Ashton Kutcher's movie - ‘Jobs’ were rather poor and this made me changed my mind watching it. The Next Web published an article on 10 Steve Jobs videos you should watch instead of Ashton Kutcher’s ‘Jobs’ and I thought they were excellent to watch!

Enjoy!

National Day Rally 2013

5 photo mobile apps to help you look more beautiful

The Next Web made a review on 5 photo mobile apps capable of making enhancements on your photo, making you look more beautiful.

The 5 photo mobile apps are:

1. Beauty Camera (Android)
2. Beauty Booth (Android | iOS)
3. Photo Wonder (Android | iOS)
4. Beauty Plus (Android | iOS)
5. Meitu Xiu Xiu 美图秀秀 (Android | iOS)

Let us know how the above help you.

JAVA: Get MD5 Hash On String

The following demonstrates how to perform MD5 hash on string. For it to run, you will need to import these 2 packages.

• java.security.MessageDigest
• javax.xml.bind.annotation.adapters.HexBinaryAdapter

public static void main(String[] args) {
    try {
        String hash1 = computeMD5Hash1("hello world");
        String hash2 = computeMD5Hash2("hello world");
        System.out.println(hash1);
        System.out.println(hash2);
    } catch (Exception e) {
    }
}

//using HexBinaryAdapter to convert byte array to string
public static String computeMD5Hash1(String plainText) {
    String hash = "";
    try {
        MessageDigest md5 = MessageDigest.getInstance("MD5");
        hash = (new HexBinaryAdapter()).marshal(md5.digest(plainText.getBytes()));
        hash = hash.toUpperCase();
    } catch (Exception e) {
        hash = "";
    }

    return hash;
}

//no library to convert byte array to string
public static String computeMD5Hash2(String plainText) {
    String hash = "";
    try {
        MessageDigest md5 = MessageDigest.getInstance("MD5");
        byte[] bb = md5.digest(plainText.getBytes());
        for (byte b : bb)
            hash += String.format("%02X", b & 0xff);
    } catch (Exception e) {
        hash = "";
    }

    return hash;
}

VIDEO: How to Coil Cables

The following video demonstrates techniques on how to coil cables such that they can be neat and won't be twisted. Interesting tip.

National Day Parade (NDP) Theme Songs (Consolidated)

28 May 2015: Added theme song for NDP 2015.
20 June 2016: Added theme song for NDP 2016.

Just come of the video compilations used as themes songs for National Day.

NDP 1998: Kit Chan 陈洁仪 -- Home 家



NDP 2001: Tanya Chua - Where I Belong



NDP 2002: Stefanie Sun 孙燕姿 -- We Will Get There 一起走到



NDP 2003: Stefanie Sun 孙燕姿 -- One United People 全心全意



NDP 2008: Joi Chua 蔡淳佳 -- 晴空万里



NDP 2010: Corrine May -- Song for Singapore



NDP 2011: Sylvia Ratonel -- In A Heartbeat



NDP 2012: Olivia Ong, Natanya Tan -- Love at First Light



NDP 2013: Sing A Nation Choir -- One Singapore



NDP 2015: Dick Lee -- Our Singapore



NDP 2016: 53A -- Tomorrow's Here Today

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Message 2013

Watch Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Message 2013 (English) below. For the transcript, click here.

Google Releases Seven Videos On Typical Manual Spam Actions Received On Webmaster Tools

Google released seven videos for the most common manual action notifications related to spam for websites in your free Google Webmaster Tools. The videos include user-generated spam, hidden text and/or keyword stuffing, pure spam, thin content with little or no added value video, unnatural Links to site video, unnatural links from your site and unnatural Links to site – impacts links.

User-generated spam

Hidden text and/or keyword stuffing

Pure spam

Thin content with little or no added value

Unnatural Links to site

Unnatural links from your site

Unnatural Links to site - impacts links

» Google Releases Seven Videos On Typical Manual Spam Actions | Search Engine Land

The Phantom of the Opera 2013 Casts (Singapore)

Source [Phantom of the Opera World Tour Facebook Page]

How to Do a Partial YouTube Embed (Custom Start and End)?

Suppose you have a long YouTube video but would like to do an embed only from say first to second minute? It's actually possible with a simple tweak.

The following is the standard embed code (without changing anything) of the PSY - Gangnam Style YouTube from first to second minute.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/9bZkp7q19f0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

To do a partial embed from the first to second minute, you will first need to convert the periods into seconds. So it would be from the 1*60=60 seconds to the 2*60=120 seconds. We will then add the 2 new start and end parameters to the embed code. The following is the customised embed code.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/9bZkp7q19f0?start=60&end=120" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The video goes like this!

World Map

Source [via]

{ prologue } bookstore at ION Orchard closing down sale

{ prologue } bookstore at ION Orchard is currently having its closing down sale. Yes, you didn't hear me wrongly - CLOSING down sale. Looks like high-end bookstore globally is not doing well at all. It must be because of the rising popularity of eBooks.

Don't miss it!

Guide to Writing Great Headlines on Twitter, Facebook and Your Blog

An insightful article written by the Buffer on how writing great headlines on Twitter, Facebook and your Blog.

Modal window effects using CSS transitions and animations

Nifty Modal Window Effects offer many possibilities for modal overlays to appear using CSS transitions and animations.

Modal Options

Adapting To A Responsive Design (Case Study)

Interesting article on Adapting To A Responsive Design (Case Study).

NEA Singapore Tweets For PSI Updates

Tweets by @NEAsg

MSSQL: Get All Stored Procedures With References to a Table

AFAIK, there is no built-in feature to generate a list of stored procedures that made references to a specific database table. The following help me to do just that.

SELECT DISTINCT so.name
FROM syscomments sc INNER JOIN sysobjects so ON sc.id = so.id AND so.xtype = 'P'
WHERE sc.TEXT LIKE '%TABLE_NAME%'

How to Turn Off Thumbs.db From Appearing?

The auto creation of Thumbs.db files in folders with images can get annoying. Before burning photo albums into DVD-R, I often have to go around searching and deleting such files. This can also get annoying for web developers using version control software e.g. TortoiseGit and TortoiseSVN.

Eh .. Sometimes, deleting these files can get the "file is in use and cannot be deleted" prompt. Very annoying.

So what exactly is Thumbs.db? As quoted from Wikipedia,

On Microsoft Windows operating systems, starting with the IE4 Desktop Update for Win95/98, a thumbnail cache is used to store thumbnail images for Windows Explorer's thumbnail view. This speeds up the display of images as these smaller images do not need to be recalculated every time the user views the folder.

Yes we know the purpose of Thumbs.db but what if we still wish to turn off Thumbs.db from appearing? There is a way to do it by tweaking a setting on the Local Group Policy Editor.

1. From the Start Menu, click Run option. Or, you can use Win+R keyboard shortcut.
   
   
2. Type gpedit.msc and hit ENTER key. This will launch the Local Group Policy Editor.
   
   
3. Navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > then either Windows Explorer (Windows Vista/7) or File Explorer (Windows 8).
   
   
4. Look for "Turn off the caching of thumbnails in hidden thumbs.db files" key and double click on it.
   
   

   

   Local Group Policy Editor

5. Select Enabled and click OK.
   
   
   

» How to Switch Off the Thumbs.db Image Cache File in Windows | Sitepoint

MSSQL: Generate Random String Using SQL

The following will generate a random fixed-length string using SQL. Simply pass in a string of accepted characters and the length of the random string to be generated.

IF ISNULL(object_id('cspRandomString'),0)<>0 DROP PROC cspRandomString
IF ISNULL(object_id('fnGenRandomInteger'),0)<>0 DROP FUNCTION fnGenRandomInteger
GO
CREATE function fnGenRandomInteger(@MinValue int, @MaxValue int, @Seed float)
returns int
as
begin
-- =============================================
-- Author:        Loh Hon Chun
-- =============================================
 return ((@MaxValue + 1) - @MinValue) * @Seed + @MinValue
end
go
CREATE procedure cspRandomString (
 @Result varchar(255) output,
 @AcceptedChars varchar(255),
 @Length int
)
as
begin
-- =============================================
-- Author:        Loh Hon Chun
-- =============================================
 set nocount on

 declare @ret char(255)
 declare @i int, @pos int
 
 set @Result = ''
 set @i = 0

 if LEN(@AcceptedChars) > 0
 begin
  while @i < @Length
  begin
   set @pos = dbo.fnGenRandomInteger(1, LEN(@AcceptedChars), RAND(CONVERT(VARBINARY, NEWID())))
   set @Result = @Result + CAST(SUBSTRING(@AcceptedChars, @pos, 1) AS VARCHAR(1))
   set @i = @i + 1
  end
 end
end
go

declare @result varchar(255)
declare @acceptedChars varchar(255)
declare @length int

set @acceptedChars = '0123456789'
set @length = 7
exec cspRandomString @Result=@result output, @AcceptedChars=@acceptedChars, @Length=@length
print @result
go

11 tips for developing a mobile app that users will love

An article on The Next Web lists out 11 tips for developing a mobile app that users will love.

1. Testing is key
2. Go Deep With Your Users
3. Plan for the Offline Experience
4. Design With Ease of Use
5. Make It Stupid Simple
6. Tailor Your Design
7. Use Grids
8. Cover as Many Platforms as Possible
9. Don't Forget the Importance of Convenience
10. Emulate the Real World
11. Pick One Thing and Nail It

Stop Windows from Restarting Your Computer After Windows Update

Almost always, Windows will always show the "your computer is going to restart in 15 minutes ..." prompt every time Windows Updates is performed. This can get annoying especially when the update setting is set to auto download and update. So I can we make the annoying prompt not to show?

The following fix should apply to both Windows 8 and 7.

1. Open your registry editor by typing regedit from your Start Menu → Run box.
2. Navigate to key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU. Many may see up to \Windows level. In that case, you will need to create new keys for \WindowsUpdate and \WindowsUpdate\AU.
3. Now, create a new DWORD (32-bit) value NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers under the AU key. Give it a value of 1.
4. Reboot your machine and you are done.

NOTE: It is still your responsibility and is definitely recommended to reboot whenever you are ready to so the updates can be applied completely.

» Stop Windows from Restarting Your Computer After Updates | LifeHacker

What to look out for for responsive adaptable web design?

An article on the Smashing Magazine website - How Much Has The Web Really Changed? discusses what has changed for the past one decade or so in web development. A lengthy but easy-to-read article.

Up until not so long ago, we used to base our designs on some rather general assumptions about screen size and input type. With the rise of devices with various screen sizes and alternative ways to interact, these assumptions have turned out to be unreliable. We need to upgrade the defaults that we use when we start designing our websites.

Google Doodle for Malaysia On Polling Day 2013

Google doodle for Malaysia as the Malaysians go to the poll today.

GS1 Prefix List - How to Determine Origin of Food From Barcodes?

Do you know that it may be possible to determine the country where a food product is manufactured bought from a supermarket by reading the barcodes on the package itself? However, do note that the barcodes do not provide identification of country of origin for a given product though hopefully the manufacturer can put our mind at ease if certain countries are in our blacklist.

How to read the barcodes?

1. Turn over the food product and look for the barcode.
   
   
   
   
   
2. The first 3 digits of the barcode will reveal the GS1 Prefix.
   
   
3. Tally with the list below to find out the country where the food product could have been manufactured at.
   
   

   GS1 Prefixes do not provide identification of country of origin for a given product. They simply provide number capacity to different countries for assignment from that location to companies who apply. Those companies in turn may manufacture products anywhere in the world.

   
   

   ASSIGNED GS1 PREFIXES
   000 - 019	GS1 US
   020 - 029	Restricted distribution (MO defined)
   030 - 039	GS1 US
   040 - 049	Restricted distribution (MO defined)
   050 - 059	Coupons
   060 - 139	GS1 US
   200 - 299	Restricted distribution (MO defined)
   300 - 379	GS1 France
   380	GS1 Bulgaria
   383	GS1 Slovenija
   385	GS1 Croatia
   387	GS1 BIH (Bosnia-Herzegovina)
   389	GS1 Montenegro
   400 - 440	GS1 Germany
   450 - 459 & 490 - 499	GS1 Japan
   460 - 469	GS1 Russia
   470	GS1 Kyrgyzstan
   471	GS1 Taiwan
   474	GS1 Estonia
   475	GS1 Latvia
   476	GS1 Azerbaijan
   477	GS1 Lithuania
   478	GS1 Uzbekistan
   479	GS1 Sri Lanka
   480	GS1 Philippines
   481	GS1 Belarus
   482	GS1 Ukraine
   484	GS1 Moldova
   485	GS1 Armenia
   486	GS1 Georgia
   487	GS1 Kazakstan
   488	GS1 Tajikistan
   489	GS1 Hong Kong
   500 - 509	GS1 UK
   520 - 521	GS1 Association Greece
   528	GS1 Lebanon
   529	GS1 Cyprus
   530	GS1 Albania
   531	GS1 MAC (FYR Macedonia)
   535	GS1 Malta
   539	GS1 Ireland
   540 - 549	GS1 Belgium & Luxembourg
   560	GS1 Portugal
   569	GS1 Iceland
   570 - 579	GS1 Denmark
   590	GS1 Poland
   594	GS1 Romania
   599	GS1 Hungary
   600 - 601	GS1 South Africa
   603	GS1 Ghana
   604	GS1 Senegal
   608	GS1 Bahrain
   609	GS1 Mauritius
   611	GS1 Morocco
   613	GS1 Algeria
   615	GS1 Nigeria
   616	GS1 Kenya
   618	GS1 Ivory Coast
   619	GS1 Tunisia
   620	GS1 Tanzania
   621	GS1 Syria
   622	GS1 Egypt
   623	GS1 Brunei
   624	GS1 Libya
   625	GS1 Jordan
   626	GS1 Iran
   627	GS1 Kuwait
   628	GS1 Saudi Arabia
   629	GS1 Emirates
   640 - 649	GS1 Finland
   690 - 699	GS1 China
   700 - 709	GS1 Norway
   729	GS1 Israel
   730 - 739	GS1 Sweden
   740	GS1 Guatemala
   741	GS1 El Salvador
   742	GS1 Honduras
   743	GS1 Nicaragua
   744	GS1 Costa Rica
   745	GS1 Panama
   746	GS1 Republica Dominicana
   750	GS1 Mexico
   754 - 755	GS1 Canada
   759	GS1 Venezuela
   760 - 769	GS1 Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera
   770 - 771	GS1 Colombia
   773	GS1 Uruguay
   775	GS1 Peru
   777	GS1 Bolivia
   778 - 779	GS1 Argentina
   780	GS1 Chile
   784	GS1 Paraguay
   786	GS1 Ecuador
   789 - 790	GS1 Brasil
   800 - 839	GS1 Italy
   840 - 849	GS1 Spain
   850	GS1 Cuba
   858	GS1 Slovakia
   859	GS1 Czech
   860	GS1 Serbia
   865	GS1 Mongolia
   867	GS1 North Korea
   868 - 869	GS1 Turkey
   870 - 879	GS1 Netherlands
   880	GS1 South Korea
   884	GS1 Cambodia
   885	GS1 Thailand
   888	GS1 Singapore
   890	GS1 India
   893	GS1 Vietnam
   896	GS1 Pakistan
   899	GS1 Indonesia
   900 - 919	GS1 Austria
   930 - 939	GS1 Australia
   940 - 949	GS1 New Zealand
   950	GS1 Global Office
   951	GS1 Global Office (EPCglobal)
   955	GS1 Malaysia
   958	GS1 Macau
   960-969	Global Office (GTIN-8s)
   977	Serial publications (ISSN)
   978 - 979	Bookland (ISBN)
   980	Refund receipts
   981 - 983	Common Currency Coupons
   990 - 999	Coupons

Samsung Galaxy S4 Commercial Video - Going Wireless

Official Chrome Extension for Google Keep

Google has released an official Chrome Extension for Google Keep - a task keeping minimalistic app. The Chrome extension can only be installed from the link above i.e. you won't find the app from doing a search.

As quoted from the Google Drive blog post,

The Google Keep Chrome app launches in its own window, so you can create notes, cross out your to-do lists, and attach photos to tasks while you work on other things. And if you don’t have an internet connection, don't fret: the Chrome app works offline because we all know that ideas (big and small) can be sparked at any time.

The Re-Imagining of Microsoft

Bing, Skype, and Xbox rebranding plans revealed in Microsoft design presentation.

WAKE UP! Malaysian Rapper United (Namewee / Ashtaka / 5Forty2)

Information on setting up two-step authentication for Outlook.com / Microsoft account

Read on for more information - Outlook.com gets two-step verification, sign-in by alias and new international domains.

ASP.NET fails to detect IE10 causing _doPostBack is undefined JavaScript error

Should you encounter _doPostBack is undefined JavaScript error on IE 10, it is because there is a bug in the browser definition files that shipped with .NET 2.0 and .NET 4.

Scott Hanselman published two ways to fix this: one is a machine-wide fix, the other is a way to fix individual sites. The replacement of the "fixed" ie.browser file will supposedly resolve the problem but it somehow didn't quite work for me. If that file didn't work for you, you may wish to use the below instead.

~\App_Browsers\ie.browser

<browsers>
    <!-- Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; .NET CLR 1.1.4325) -->
    <browser id="IE6Plus" parentID="IE">
        <identification>
            <capability name="majorversion" match="^[6-9]|\d{2,}$" />
        </identification>

        <capabilities>
            <capability name="ecmascriptversion"    value="3.0" />
            <capability name="jscriptversion"       value="5.6" />
            <capability name="javascript"           value="true" />
            <capability name="javascriptversion"    value="1.5" />
            <capability name="msdomversion"         value="${majorversion}.${minorversion}" />
            <capability name="w3cdomversion"        value="1.0" />
            <capability name="ExchangeOmaSupported" value="true" />
            <capability name="activexcontrols"      value="true" />
            <capability name="backgroundsounds"     value="true" />
            <capability name="cookies"              value="true" />
            <capability name="frames"               value="true" />
            <capability name="javaapplets"          value="true" />
            <capability name="supportsCallback"     value="true" />
            <capability name="supportsFileUpload"   value="true" />
            <capability name="supportsMultilineTextBoxDisplay" value="true" />
            <capability name="supportsMaintainScrollPositionOnPostback" value="true" />
            <capability name="supportsVCard"        value="true" />
            <capability name="supportsXmlHttp"      value="true" />
            <capability name="tables"               value="true" />
            <capability name="supportsAccessKeyAttribute"    value="true" />
            <capability name="tagwriter"            value="System.Web.UI.HtmlTextWriter" />
            <capability name="vbscript"             value="true" />
        </capabilities>
    </browser>

    <!-- Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0;) -->
    <browser id="IE6to9" parentID="IE6Plus">
      <identification>
        <capability name="majorversion" match="^[6-9]$" />
      </identification>
    </browser>

    <!-- Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 6.0;) -->
    <browser id="IE7" parentID="IE6to9">
        <identification>
            <capability name="majorversion" match="^7$" />
        </identification>
        <capabilities>
            <capability name="jscriptversion" value="5.7" />
        </capabilities>
    </browser>

    <!-- Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 8.0; Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; Trident/4.0; SLCC2; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.5.30729; .NET CLR 3.0.30729) -->
    <browser id="IE8" parentID="IE6to9">
        <identification>
            <capability name="majorversion" match="^8$" />
        </identification>
        <capabilities>
            <capability name="jscriptversion" value="6.0" />
        </capabilities>
    </browser>

  <!-- Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 8.0; Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; Trident/4.0; SLCC2; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.5.30729; .NET CLR 3.0.30729) -->
  <browser id="IE9" parentID="IE6to9">
    <identification>
      <capability name="majorversion" match="^9$" />
    </identification>
    <capabilities>
      <capability name="jscriptversion" value="6.0" />
    </capabilities>
  </browser>

  <!-- Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; MSIE 9.0; Windows NT 6.1; Trident/5.0) -->
  <browser id="IE10Plus" parentID="IE6Plus">
    <identification>
      <capability name="majorversion" match="\d{2,}" />
    </identification>
    <capabilities>
      <capability name="jscriptversion" value="6.0" />
    </capabilities>
  </browser>

  <gateway id="IEbeta" parentID="IE">
        <identification>
            <capability name="letters" match="^([bB]|ab)" />
        </identification>

        <capture>
        </capture>

        <capabilities>
            <capability name="beta"    value="true" />
        </capabilities>
    </gateway>
</browsers>

Extend Your Microsoft Office Trial for Five More Months

Microsoft offers free 30-day trials of Office 365 and Office 2013. After your free month is over, you won't be able to use some major features of these office suites. There is an article on LifeHacker extending Microsoft Office trial for five more months.

I didn't try it though. Let me know if it works.

Skype Facing Problems Signing In Using Microsoft Account

It's confirmed that signing into Skype using Microsoft Account is facing problem as indicated on Skype Heartbeat.

Skype Heartbeat Announcement

It seem to be affecting only Skype for Desktop.

Error message after attempting to login using Microsoft account

In case you do need to connect with your MSN friends urgently, you may explore the following options:

1. Skype on mobile
2. Third party IM e.g. imo.im or eBuddy.

[UPDATE Apr 25, 2013 18:15 GMT+8] The issue has been resolved - at least for myself.

Xiang Yun (向云) Euology On Huang Wenyong (黄文永)

Quoted from the Wikipedia,

Huang Wenyong (25 July 1952 – 20 April 2013) was a Malaysia-born Singaporean actor, musician, and former teacher of Chinese descent. He was an actor for MediaCorp from the early 1980s until his death. Appearing in more than 100 television programmes, he was among the first few batches of locally-trained actors to enter the local entertainment industry and considered to be one of the "pioneers in local Chinese drama". Huang died on 20 April 2013 of Lymphoma.

Soon after his death, several fans and fellow colleagues pour in their consolation and regret to have lost an invaluable asset to Singapore local film industry. Long-time working colleague of Huang Wenyong's (黄文永) - Xiang Yun (向云) penned an euology on the passing of her friend.

Xiang Yun (向云) penned an euology on Huang Wenyong (黄文永)

"永别了！我的挚友。你真的很风光！"
第一代阿姐，悼念第一代阿哥，一段情真意切的肺腑之言，感动千万心。
昨天午夜，“阿梅”向云在FB写了一篇长文《悼文永》，令数万名网友感动，不少人更说，读了情不自禁落泪。
今午，永远的“阿水”已经出殡，《联合晚报》谨此与面友分享这篇动人的悼文，向文永大哥致敬。

【悼文永】
文永，30多年的战友，要写他，点点滴滴，能记得多少？

我们从青年，壮年到黄金年代一路走来，面对着不同阶段的人生、事业和健康的挑战。

之财常形容我的“象一头牛那样会吃苦”，那文永就像牛和雄狮的结合。他不只很会吃苦，还很固执的坚守岗位。

许多农历新年的时段，大家忙着拿假回家庆祝，但是只要公司开口要求他留下开工，他从不拒绝。看他忙完这个戏，就接下个任务，马不停蹄，年复一年的苦干。

文永性格老实憨厚、正直，画画唱歌都是他的擅长。对于弱势者会特别的照顾。

在我眼中的他是一个孝子，好丈夫，好父亲。在与他共事这些年里，虽然他不提，但我也知道他在不同阶段曾为母亲离世前的病重担忧，承受失去母亲的悲痛，妻子患病时的忧虑，以及为孩子们成长的操心，我只能默默给他打气。

《雾锁南洋》是我和文永在演艺圈的一个转折点。文永很用心，很卖力的演，许多危险动作都自己来，病了也继续拍，很敬业。而我却是糊里糊涂的跟着演。

那部戏消耗了我们许多体力和连续开早晚班的睡眠时间，但是那时我们还年轻，有本钱。

之后他就一部接一部的拍下去。看到文永工作时一丝不苟，及与导演配合的专业态度，我从中学习了许多，尤其是他原本是教师的背景，对他是又敬又畏，后来一起工作久了熟悉了，从他天天说不完的笑话中感觉轻松多了，慢慢的无所不谈，但还是不敢在他面前放肆，到现在还是一样。所以他与我是亦师亦友。

到拍摄新年歌mtv时，听到同事说文永暴瘦10公斤的消息时，赶紧给他一个电话问候，他说不知原因，还在想要不要带家人去台湾度假？我鼓励他一定要去，一家人出游是最开心的事，别担心工作了。

在“戏剧情牵30年”那天总算看到他了，相信我那一愣认不出消瘦了的他的那个惊讶表情是伤了他，他紧握我的手，小声说：这次不太乐观！我马上阻止他胡思乱想。当晚我彻夜难眠，发了个信息给他，要他一定要去找出病因。

之后因不敢打扰他，久不久才发个短信慰问他，要他加油！他也回复我，要我好好照顾自己。但在新年后的简讯他就没回复了，我心里开始着急，后来得知他在医院的那段日子，我几次想探望他的要求都被拒绝了。

我了解，因为我也是艺人，希望大家都留下美好的印象，而不是被病魔摧残了的病容，我也知道他明白我的心意。

近年来我很健忘，许多记忆都常常需要文永来提我，他走了，记忆忘了就忘了，人生还是要往前走。

看看身边的同伴，不是每个都会与你同行到老，有些会先告别，也许有一天……这就是人生。

文永60年的岁月是精彩的，他照亮自己，也照亮大家，让每个认识他的人都快乐。

永别了！我的挚友。你真的很风光！

Samsung Galaxy S4 (Corning Gorilla Glass) Scratch Test

Coming Samsung Galaxy S4, equipped with Corning Gorilla Glass, is put to scratches under knives, keys and coins, pass with flying colours.

See for yourself.

Yahoo! Mail New Re-thought iOS and Android App

Ever since Marissa Mayer came on board as the CEO of Yahoo, its mobile strategy seem to have taken quite a bit of a lift. Once slow and sometimes buggy Yahoo! Mail mobile app has now been revamped and re-thought.

Quote from Yahoo! corporate blog post Unbox Your Mail with Yahoo! Mail For Tablets,

Today, we’re excited to introduce the Yahoo! Mail Apps for iPad and Android tablets - a full-screen experience that gets rid of the noise. There are no folders, no buttons, no tabs - just you and your mail - and you can easily flip through it like a magazine. We've designed Yahoo! Mail to take full advantage of the tablet making reading your email faster, easier and just a little bit more fun.

Download Yahoo! Mail for iPad and Android tablets now.

Flat Design Language Makes It to Facebook Too

Facebook redesigned its icons moving from a more 3D-like icons to flat icons. The changed icons which also include its logo are as below:

Get Facebook Home on Any Android Phone

Facebook Home is live but is available only on selected phones for now. Lifehacker has a tip on how to Get Facebook Home on Any Android Phone.

A first look on Facebook Home.

Constant "Check Disk" After Windows Update 2823324

You may be encountering constant prompt to perform "Check Disk" on boot-up after performing the recent Windows Update. Microsoft Security team has confirmed a problem with security update 2823324 and has since pulled it off from the pipe.

Should you have unfortunately installed it, please read this Microsoft release on the steps required to uninstall 2823324. I personally experienced the problem and resolved it using the just-mentioned instruction.

All the best.

Control Postback Only On Second Attempt After Validation Error

Recently, I encountered a problem whereby my DropDownList in UpdatePanel didn't AutoPostBack after a validator control return failure. The PostBack only happen after I tried to change the SelectedIndex the second time.

Reading from a blog, I learnt that resetting Page_BlockSubmit back to False in client side will resolve the problem.

What is Page_BlockSubmit?

When the user clicks on a button causing a full post back, after running Page_ClientValidate ASP.NET runs another built in function ValidatorCommonOnSubmit. Within Page_ClientValidate, Page_BlockSubmit is set based on the validation. The postback is then blocked in ValidatorCommonOnSubmit if Page_BlockSubmit is true. No matter what, at the end of the function Page_BlockSubmit is always reset back to false.

If a page does a partial postback without running any validation and Page_BlockSubmit has not been reset to false, the partial postback will be blocked. In essence the above function, RunValidation, acts similar to ValidatorCommonOnSubmit. It runs the validation and then returns false to block the postback if needed. Since the built in postback is never run, we need to reset Page_BlockSubmit manually before returning the validation result.

Video: Accident Near Bugis Involving Mercedes Driver

On 15 April 2013 before 8:30pm, an accident involving up to 7 vehicles occurred near Bugis at the junction of Victoria Street and Middle Road. This accident is said to be the result of a drunken or fainted Mercedes driver.

Investigation is still on-going. Thank goodness, passengers in the taxi are unharmed.

Facebook Home "Launch Day" Video Ad

What do you think of the Facebook Home "Launch Day" video ad? What message is Facebook trying to convey? Did you having a better understanding what Facebook Home is all about after watching this video? IMO, the video seems to suggest Facebook Home is a great potential for creating distractions.

Apollo 11 summarised in 100 seconds video

Presented here is the first manned mission to the Moon by the Americans, July 1969, in 100 one-second increments. Enjoy the voyage.

PSY - Gentleman

South Korean the Gangnam Style man has just released his new music video - Gentleman. Will this new Gentleman video break previous Gangnam Style record 1.5 billion YouTube views? Currently, the Gentleman video has recorded 6.9 million views so far.

What do you think of this new video? IMO, I find it rather clown and non-gentleman.

Tim Ho Wan (添好運) Opened in Plaza Singapura

Michelin Star dim sum (點心) restaurant from Hong Kong, Tim Ho Wan (添好運), is finally opened in Singapore, Plaza Singapura.

View Larger Map

Address : Plaza Singapura, 68 Orchard Rd #01-29A
Tel. No.: 6251 2000

Boost Your Facebook Privacy

An interesting article from the LifeHacker How Facebook Uses Your Data to Target Ads, Even Offline will guide you how to boost your Facebook privacy.

How to Disable Chrome New Right Menu?

If you somehow or rather don't like the latest Chrome's right menu, there is a way to disable it.

1. Look for the shortcut where you usually start Chrome e.g. on your Desktop.
   
   
2. Right click on the shortcut and then Properties.
   
   
3. Make sure the Shortcut tab is selected.
   
   
4. In the Target field at the end of "C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" after space add "–-disable-new-menu-style" without quotes. (note we have got two hyphens before disable).
   
   
5. Click OK to apply changes.

Done! The next time you click on this shortcut, the good usual familiar right menu will be used.

» Don't like Chrome’s New Menus? Here is how to Disable Them | TechDows

Article On Responsive Design

Articles from the Smashing Magazine featuring on responsive web design catering for both desktop and mobile. Interesting.

• Improve Mobile Support With Server-Side-Enhanced Responsive Design
• Responsive Nav: A Simple JavaScript Plugin For Responsive Navigation

Difference Between LCD, LED, Plasma, and OLED TV

20 Best Wireframing Tools for Web Designers and Developers

Just for reference - a list of the 20 Best Wireframing Tools for Web Designers and Developers.

How to buy and sell Bitcoins?

What is Bitcoin?

From ZDNet:

• How to buy and sell Bitcoins -- Part 1: Theory
• How to buy and sell Bitcoins -- Part 2: Practical

What is Bitcoin (Explained)?

Bitcoin Explained from Duncan Elms on Vimeo.

My trust in Citibank has gone down the drain

Please do share if you do have a bad experience with Citibank or any other banks too.

Dear Sir/Mdm,

Reference to a request from @AskCiti (Twitter handler) to send an email to the above email address for elaboration as to why I have decided to terminate my credit card and my relationship with Citibank, I am here - now writing this email.

Twitter correspondence here: https://twitter.com/AskCiti/status/319451681580519424

So, what actually happened?

1. On Feb 2013, I received a credit card bill from Citibank showing an annual fee of S$150 + S$10.50 charged onto my card.
   
   
2. I called in to +65 6225 5225, spoke to a customer service officer (CSO) and requested for a waiver. The guy I spoke to promised and reassured me a total of S$160.50 would be waived on the spot. I proceeded to make bill payment without the waived amount.
   
   
3. On Mar 2013, I received a credit card bill from Citibank. What shocked me was not only the S$160.50 wasn't been waived, a further S$21.85 was incurred due to an unexpected debit balance carried forward from Feb 2013.
   
   
4. I called in to +65 6225 5225 last week, spoke to a customer service officer (CSO), explained what happened, and demanded for a waiver of S$150 + S$10.50 + S$21.85 = S$182.35. The CSO reassured me the amount would be waived in 3 working days. Not trusting Citibank this time round and wouldn't want this "debt" to be carried forward to yet another billing cycle, I insisted Citibank contact me on any update. I proceeded to make bill payment without the S$182.35.
   
   
5. 3 working days have passed - nothing is done, no one from Citibank contacted me.
   
   
6. I called +65 6225 5225 yesterday on 3 Apr 2013, spoke to a customer service officer (CSO), explained the whole story again, and was told my request for waiver was not in the system.
   
   
7. The CSO helpfully made a waiver on the spot, reassured me the waiver done and completed.
   
   
8. Losing trust completely in Citibank, I requested for a complete closure of my card. I was then redirected to the closure department.
   
   
9. Citing my lost in trust in Citibank and lack of follow up from Citibank as the reason for closure, the last CSO I spoke to proceeded to close my account.
   
   
10. Almost immediately after the tele-conversation, the last CSO phoned. It's this very last conversation that really made me laughed till I almost dropped. This CSO suggested I should stay with Citibank for 1 more year since all charges were waived. She then revealed the real 2 reasons for me to continue - 1) she forgot to verify my identity, 2) there was a system error encountered and my first conversation with her was not logged.
    
    
11. Do you expect me to repeat everything again after the recording system is turned on?
    
    
12. How can I convince myself to believe and trust Citibank again if simple procedure like verification of identity and making sure the recording system is running (if need be) are not ensured?

FYI, a copy of this email is published here.

How to Determine Origin of Food From Bar Codes?

According to a Facebook post, it is possible to determine the origin of food bought from a supermarket by reading the barcodes on the package itself.

Disclaimer: I am not sure if it is 100% accurate.

HOW TO READ BAR CODES... (everyone must know)

ALWAYS READ THE LABELS ON THE FOODS YOU BUY--NO MATTER WHAT THE FRONT OF THE BOX OR PACKAGE SAYS, TURN IT OVER AND READ THE BACK CAREFULLY!

With all the food and pet products now coming from China, it is best to make sure you read label at the supermarket and especially when buying food products. Many products no longer show where they were made, only give where the distributor is located. The whole world is concerned about China-made "black-hearted goods".

Can you differentiate which one is made in Taiwan or China ? The world is also concerned about GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) foods; steroid fed animals (ex: 45 days old broiler chicken).

It is important to read the bar code to track its origin. How to read Bar Codes....interesting !

If the first 3 digits of the bar code are 690, 691 or 692, the product is MADE IN CHINA.
471 is Made in Taiwan .
If the first 3 digits of the bar code are 00-09 then it's made or sourced in USA.

This is our right to know, but the government and related departments never educate the public, therefore we have to RESCUE ourselves. Nowadays, Chinese businessmen know that consumers do not prefer products "MADE IN CHINA", so they don't show from which country it is made. However, you may now refer to the barcode -

Remember if the first 3 digits are:
890......MADE IN INDIA
690, 691, 692 ... then it is MADE IN CHINA
00 - 09 ... USA and CANADA
30 - 37 ... FRANCE
40 - 44 ... GERMANY
471 ........ Taiwan
45 or 49 ........JAPAN
489...........HONG KONG
50 .......... UK
57 .........DENMARK
64..........FINLAND
76.........SWITZERLAND and LIENCHTENSTIEN
471......... is Made in TAIWAN (see sample)
628.........SAUDI ARABIA
629.........UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
740..........745 - CENTRAL AMERICA

All 480 Codes are Made in the PHILIPPINES.

Do let me know how true is this!

More information can be found at GS1 Prefix List - How to Determine Origin of Food From Barcodes?.

MSSQL: Run Large SQL Script

Having problems when running large SQL scripts using the SQL Management Studio (SSMS)? I would suggest you use sqlcmd instead. Save your script in a flat file (e.g. .sql or .txt) and pass the file as an input parameter to sqlcmd like below.

sqlcmd -S SERVER\INSTANCE -i mysqlscript.sql

In case you are having problems logging in, you may wish to try either one of them.

sqlcmd -S SERVER\INSTANCE,PORT -i mysqlscript.sql

OR

sqlcmd -S np:\\127.0.0.1\pipe\MSSQL$INSTANCE\sql\query -i mysqlscript.sql

NOTE: Replace SERVER, INSTANCE, PORT accordingly to suit your server configuration.

Hope it helps.

Google New April Fools' Day Features

As part of Google's tradition, a series of new features or initiatives were announced in this year's April Fools' Day.

We have announcement from YouTube at which they announced they are now ready to announce the best ever uploaded video in 10 years' time. The selection process will be by several technicians based on strict guidelines. And YouTube will be shut down for good.

Next, we have announcement featuring whole new service in beta - Google Nose - a whole new different experience in search using a sense.

We also have got Google Maps launching treasure mode.

Joining in the fun, Gmail is launching Gmail Blue, obviously in mockery on Windows Blue - making everything blue.

Google Fiber is bringing fiber close to you, as long as you are connected to a "pole".

For webmasters and marketers, Google Analytics participated in this joke day by including hits from the International Space Stations.

Last but not least, a Google Easter Egg for you just by doing a search.

10 Must-Have Chrome Extensions for Developers

The Mashable published 10 Chrome extensions for web developers and I bet web developers like you yourself must be using some of them. Do you have your own favourite extensions? Do share with us.

1. Firebug Lite
2. Web Developer
3. Session Manager
4. Clear Cache
5. Chrome Sniffer
6. JSONView
7. Resolution Test
8. Edit This Cookie
9. Page Speed Insights
10. Postman - REST Client

Related Readings:

• 10 Firefox Add-Ons for Developers
• 10 Firefox Add-Ons for Designers

10 Firefox Add-Ons for Designers

The Mashable published 10 Firefox Add-Ons for Designers and I bet web designers and web developers like you yourself must be using some of them. Do you have your own favourite add-ons? Do share with us.

1. ColorZilla
2. Pencil
3. MeasureIt
4. Stylish
5. View Source Chart
6. Firesizer
7. HTML Validator
8. Font Finder
9. CSS Usage
10. Tab Mix Plus

Related Readings:

• 10 Firefox Add-Ons for Developers
• 10 Must-Have Chrome Extensions for Developers

10 Firefox Add-Ons for Developers

The Mashable published 10 Firefox Add-Ons for Developers and I bet web developers like you yourself must be using some of them. Do you have your own favourite add-ons? Do share with us.

1. Firebug
2. Web Developer
3. FireFTP
4. YSlow
5. Greasemonkey
6. JSONView
7. RESTClient
8. Empty Cache
9. JS Deminifier
10. Fireshot

In my own opinion, HttpFox should be the other worthy mention add-on.

Related Readings:

• 10 Firefox Add-Ons for Designers
• 10 Must-Have Chrome Extensions for Developers

How does it look like in major cities at night without lights?

Ever wonder how does it look like at night without lights? A New York City-based photographer who spent the last two years documenting glaciers around the world produced his impression in major cities - dark, star-lighted sky, and sometimes can be cold.

Notify Me! Android App

A FREE Android app that lets you create a list of apps that are allowed to light the screen up and show their notifications on it as a popup in front of your lock screen.

More information here:

• Information from XDA Developer Forum
• Download Notify Me

How to Build Your Own Syncing RSS Reader with Tiny Tiny RSS and Kick Google Reader to the Curb

Quite a comprehensive guide on setting up Tiny Tiny RSS as your Google Reader alternative and hosting it without fear that your feeds will be gone.

18 Inspiring Examples of Websites Developed Using HTML5

Looking for HTML5 websites for inspiration? Webrevisions published an article recently introducing 18 such websites.

Infographics: Blog Weekly Insights

40 Useful Cheat Sheets For Designers and Developers

What a resource for web designers and developers - 40 Useful Cheat Sheets For Designers and Developers.

MSSQL: Update running sequence / number

Let's say we have a table with a column of numbers and for some reason, they are not in running sequence. Instead of editing the rows manually, we can actually do it using a SQL script.

Hopefully the following helps.

--Create some test data
IF EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM sys.objects WHERE object_id = OBJECT_ID(N'tblTest') AND type in (N'U')) DROP TABLE tblTest
GO
CREATE TABLE tblTest (Label VARCHAR(20), OriginalOrderNo INT, OrderNo INT)
INSERT INTO tblTest (Label, OriginalOrderNo, OrderNo) VALUES ('four', 4, 4)
INSERT INTO tblTest (Label, OriginalOrderNo, OrderNo) VALUES ('seven', 7, 7)
INSERT INTO tblTest (Label, OriginalOrderNo, OrderNo) VALUES ('one', 1, 1)
INSERT INTO tblTest (Label, OriginalOrderNo, OrderNo) VALUES ('two', 2, 2)
INSERT INTO tblTest (Label, OriginalOrderNo, OrderNo) VALUES ('five', 5, 5)
INSERT INTO tblTest (Label, OriginalOrderNo, OrderNo) VALUES ('nine', 9, 9)
GO
--BEFORE
SELECT * FROM tblTest ORDER BY OrderNo
GO
--DO the UPDATE
UPDATE t1 SET t1.OrderNo = t2.Sequence
FROM tblTest t1 INNER JOIN (
 SELECT Label, OrderNo, ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY OrderNo) AS 'Sequence'
 FROM tblTest) AS t2 ON t1.OrderNo = t2.OrderNo
GO
--AFTER
SELECT * FROM tblTest ORDER BY OrderNo
GO
IF EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM sys.objects WHERE object_id = OBJECT_ID(N'tblTest') AND type in (N'U')) DROP TABLE tblTest
GO