What is TortoiseCVS?

I am going to set up and play around with this application called TortoiseCVS, which is a CVS client that runs on the Microsoft Windows platform. It's officially recommendated by SourceForge. Thanks to Jin for telling me about this cool application. It's free, so you should give it a try too.

Here is an overview of TortoiseCVS from SourceForge:

CVS, Concurrent Versions System, is a centralized Revision Control System (RCS). SourceForge.net provides CVS service to all hosted projects. In order to access our CVS service, you will need to install a CVS client. CVS allows developers to keep a historical record of changes made to their source code tree, and to allow multiple developers to work on a single set of files at the same time without accidentally overwriting changes made by other developers.

TortoiseCVS is a CVS client that runs on the Microsoft Windows platform. TortoiseCVS is integrated with Windows Explorer (Windows Explorer is the file manager in Windows, not the web browser of a similar name, Internet Explorer), rather than a separate stand-alone application. Since most Windows users are comfortable with the Windows Explorer interface, it is often easy for new CVS users to escape the learning curve by using TortoiseCVS.

Got Atlas Installed for Viual Studio 2005 and .NET 2.0

Atlas is a free framework for building a new generation of richer, more interactive, highly personalized standards based Web applications. It works with VS 2005 and .NET 2.0.

I'm excited to have it installed last night. Played around with it for a bit and also started a new project to learn more about the new Atlas framework and AJAX.

Here are some advantages of the new Atlas framework:

• Atlas empowers ASP.NET developers to effortlessly create richer web experiences.


• Atlas includes a client-side Javascript framework for easy script creation and reuse.


• Atlas makes it super easy to consume services from ASP.NET.


• Atlas makes building composite applications from the programmable web a snap.

You can learn more about the new Atlas framework at atlas.asp.net.

“Is Java Finished?” By Vincent Ryan

Here are my takes from an article by Vincent Ryan called "Is Java Finished?"

• Java's philosophy of development is to expose low-level system interfaces to give developers greater control.


• Microsoft simplifies the development process; the developer has less control -- but the tools are easier to use.


• In the Microsoft model, standards and portability are not important, he noted. That makes developing on .NET a high-risk strategy, because the developer is locked into Windows and Windows characteristics.


• Will Java go away? Most unlikely, because developers who want cross-platform interoperability will take Java. No question about it!

Read more at www.newsfactor.com. Thanks to my friend, Anup, for the article.

What is a MS SQL Server Trigger?

A trigger is an object contained within a SQL Server database that gets called each time a row in a table is INSERTED, DELETED, or UPDATED. It is used to execute a batch of SQL code whenever one of these SQL commands, INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE, is executed against a specific table.

Trigger is stored in the database and can be accessed from any client or web page that connects to the database. If used correctly, trigger can save developers a large amount of time and work.

CREATE TRIGGER trigger_name

ON { table | view }

[ WITH ENCRYPTION ]

{

{ { FOR | AFTER | INSTEAD OF } { [ INSERT ] [ , ] [ UPDATE ] [ , ] [ DELETE ] }

[ WITH APPEND ]

[ NOT FOR REPLICATION ]

AS

[ { IF UPDATE ( column )

[ { AND | OR } UPDATE ( column ) ]

[ ...n ]

| IF ( COLUMNS_UPDATED ( ) { bitwise_operator } updated_bitmask )

{ comparison_operator } column_bitmask [ ...n ]

} ]

sql_statement [ ...n ]

}

}

Example:

CREATE TRIGGER trig_addAuthor

ON authors

FOR INSERT

AS

-- Get the first and last name of new author

DECLARE @newName VARCHAR(100)

SELECT @newName = (SELECT au_fName + ' ' + au_lName FROM Inserted)

-- Print the name of the new author

PRINT 'New author "' + @newName + '" added.'

Read more on this at www.devarticles.com.

Mason Advances to the FINAL FOUR

George Mason stunned the no. 1 seed University of Connecticut, 86-84, in a thrilling overtime NCAA Tournament game on Sunday at the Verizon Center. The Patriots are the first no. 11 seed to reach the Final Four since 1986. The next game is 6:07 p.m. on April 1 in Indianapolis, where Mason will face the University of Florida Gators. More...


Members of the Patriots basketball team and coaching staff storm the court after Sunday's thrilling victory over the University of Connecticut.

Mason Advances to the FINAL FOUR

Jim Larranaga - Head Coach

Mason Makes the Sweet Sixteen

Fresh off its historic win over sixth-seeded Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament, the George Mason men's basketball team met and faced another challenge, toppling the defending national champions, the no. 3 seed University of North Carolina Tar Heels, 65-60.

The Patriots now face no. 7 Wichita State University in the Sweet Sixteen on March 24 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.

George Mason (25-7) became the first Colonial Athletic Association team to reach the round of 16 since 1988, when Richmond went. More...


Senior guard Tony Skinn, who sat out Friday's game, gets a hug after the Patriots victory over Michigan State.


A happy coach faces the media after the Michigan State win.

Mason Makes the Sweet Sixteen

My Google Page

Check out my Google page at thekhuc.googlepages.com.

From Google's website:

Create your own web pages, quickly and easily.

Google Page Creator is a free online tool that makes it easy for anyone to create and publish useful, attractive web pages in just minutes.

• No technical knowledge required - Build high-quality web pages without having to learn HTML or use complex software.



• What you see is what you'll get - Edit your pages right in your browser, seeing exactly how your finished product will look every step along the way.


• 
  Don't worry about hosting - Your web pages will live on your own site at http://yourgmailusername.googlepages.com

My Very First AJAX Application

The application shows how the XMLHttpRequest object or the Microsoft.XMLHTTP ActiveX object is used to load and display a simple text file in the browser.

Check it out here.

Mr. Bill Gates Calls It the “Knowledge Economy”

In his speech to about 300 political, business and academic leaders from Canada, Latin America and the United States at the company's Government Leaders Forum, Mr. Bill Gates sketched out his vision for the future. He said we're transitioning towards the "knowledge economy". In this so-called knowledge economy, a cell phone will become a "digital wallet", able to receive e-mail and even scan business cards, while computers and TVs will merge.

Bill Gates is my idol, and I must say it would be really cool to see his vision comes true.

Read more on his speech at BusinessWeek.com.

Jogging Routine: Days 3 and 4 Recap

Day 3 (3/15): Didn't feel like jogging today. Thought it was too cold outside to be jogging. Body still sored from jogging the days before. Went to bed at 12:30 the night before; thus, not enough hours of sleep.

Day 4 (3/16): Was able to jog today. Body felt better, even though still a little sored. Was able to jog a little longer without stopping. It was cold today; had to put on a hoody and sweatpants. Also practiced a few Taekwondo techniques to work out upper body. Progressing slowly and steady. Can't wait till tomorrow morning.

Goal: Working toward jogging around the neighborhood without stopping.

Display and Hide DIVs Using Javascript and CSS

Suppose I have some text within <div id="div1"></div> tags, it's easy to display and hide this block of text with the help of some Javascript code and CSS.

To hide the block of text, do the following:

<script language="javascript">
document.getElementById('div1').style.display = 'none';
</script>

To display the block of text, just remove the word 'none' from the code above as follows:

<script language="javascript">
document.getElementById('div1').style.display = '';
</script>

To further extend this capability, we can put the code above in a Javascript function, which can be called using the OnClick event. This can be easily done with a form checkbox as follows:

<input type="checkbox" id="CheckBoxID" OnClick="ShowHideDIV();">

function ShowHideDIV()
{
var blnCheckbox = document.getElementById('CheckBoxID')
if(blnCheckbox.checked)
{
document.getElementById('div1').style.display = 'none';
}
else
{
document.getElementById('div1').style.display = '';
}
}

Jogging Routine: Days 1 and 2 Recap

Day 1 (3/13): Woke up at 6:30 to get ready. Started jogging around 6:45. Practiced a few Taekwondo techniques. Done at 7:30 to get ready for work.

Day 2 (3/14): Body sored from jogging the day before. Thought it was going to rain so just walked around the neighborhood in smaller loops. Practiced a few Taekwondo techniques. Done at 7:30 to get ready for work.

Goal: Working toward jogging around the neighborhood without stopping.

Top 10 Richest People in the World

Here is the list of the 10 richest people in the world according to Forbes.com:

1. Bill Gates - 50 B



2. Warren Buffett - 42 B



3. Carlos Slim Helú - 30 B



4. Ingvar Kamprad - 28 B



5. Lakshmi Mittal - 23.5 B



6. Paul Allen - 22 B



7. Bernard Arnault - 21.5 B



8. Prince Alwaleed - 20 B



9. Kenneth Thomson - 19.6 B



10. Li Ka-shing - 18.8 B

This year the list of billionaires grew to a record 793, compared to just 140 billionaires 20 years ago. They're worth a combined $2.6 trillion. Read more on this story at Forbes.com.

Are We Nearing a Virtual PC?

With the introduction of GDrive by Google, a Virtual PC is very possible in the nearing future. Soon enough what we can do on a PC can be conducted over the Web. In order for this to happen, applications and plug-ins will need to be created to work with this GDrive technology. There were also rumor that Google is creating an OS to be run on the Web. If this is true, then I say: "We need to be ready for a Virtual PC pretty soon."

Read more on this at Playfuls.com.

AOL to Charge Mass Emailers Fee to Send Emails to Its Members

AOL has just announced that it will be charging mass emailers a small fee for each message sent to its members. Their intention is to eliminate spams and junk emails, but it could a hard blow to the face for some legitimate groups who do mass emailing, because they cannot afford to pay the fees. I am not AOL email user, but I'm curious how current AOL email users will react to this announcement. I personally do not like the idea that my email provider would do something like this, because I can take care of junk emails myself. This is going to be better off for some people and bad for others. I guess we just have to wait for the results.

Read more at CTV.ca.

Javascript to disable user from using the browser’s Back button

The following Javascript code would disable the user from using the browser's Back button.

<script language="javascript">
window.history.forward(1);
</script>

Bloch’s Standard Exceptions

IllegalArgumentException: Parameter value is inappropriate

NullPointerException: Parameter null where prohibited

IndexOutOfBoundsException: Index param out of range

ConcurrentModificationException: Concurrent modification detected when not allowed

IllegalStateException: Object state is inappropriate for method invocation. Ojbect may not be initialized before accessing its state. ClassCastException (Illegal state of object)

UnsupportedOperationException: Object does not support the method. Substitutional principal

Gmail for your domain

From Google website:

Bring Gmail to your domain.

This special beta test lets you give Gmail, Google's webmail service, to every user at your domain. Gmail for your domain is hosted by Google, so there's no hardware or software for you to install or maintain.

Gmail - 2 gigabytes of storage and search tools that help users find information fast.
Control Panel - Easily manage user accounts, aliases and mailing lists.

Want to be part of this beta test?

Gmail for your domain is currently available as a limited beta. If your organization is interested in helping Google test this service, we'll consider your domain for this beta. You'll need to sign in with a Google Account (or get a new one), and answer a few quick questions about your organization and your email needs.

What Is Next for Oracle?

Oracle is planning to buy the following three open-source software companies, which valued at more than $600 million according to Business Week Online.

• JBoss: Based in Atlanta, specializes in so-called middleware, the program the serves as a connection between disparate programs, competition against BEA Systems and IBM, worth as much as $400 million [www.jboss.com]


• Zend's PHP software language: Based in Cupertino, California, one of the most prevalent on the Web, present in more than 18 million Web sites, worth as much as $200 million [www.zend.com]


• Sleepycat Software: Based in Emeryville, California, specializes in technology that is used in many of the open-source databases that handle reams of digital data [www.sleepycat.com]

What is the next target for Oracle?

Read more about this at www.businessweek.com.

Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design

1. Bad Search


2. PDF Files for Online Reading


3. Not Changing the Color of Visited Links


4. Non-Scannable Text


5. Fixed Font Size


6. Page Titles With Low Search Engine Visibility


7. Anything That Looks Like an Advertisement


8. Violating Design Conventions


9. Opening New Browser Windows


10. Not Answering Users' Questions

Read more at Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox.
[Source: Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox]

What is the Semantic Web?

Semantic Web is global mesh of information that is easily processed by machines. It is an efficient way to represent data on the World Wide Web. This sytem was thought up by Tim Bernes-Lee, who was the inventor of the WWW, URIs, HTTP, and HTML. It is constantly worked on by a team of people at the World Wide Web consortium (W3C). Also many languages, publications and tools have already been developed based on this sytem.

The Semantic Web allows people to publish and find information faster and easier. It is built on syntaxes which us URIs, Uniform Resource Identifier, to represent data, usually in triples based structures. A language which uses URIs is called RDF, Resource Description Framework. RDF XML is considered to be the standard interchange format for RDF on the Semantic Web. Semantic Web languages are very powerful in that they make it very easy for people to create and publish information using URIs and that it is very unconstraining in what it lets people say and do. But at the same time, they are the basis for very well defined and structured applications.

The next step in the architecture of the Semantic Web is trust and proof. Applications on the Semantic Web will depend on context generally to let people know whether or not to trust the data. These applications will generally contain proof checking mechanisms and digital signatures. The Semantic Web is growing and it is important that we address these issues before they get out of control.

Source: The Semantic Web: An Introduction [http://infomesh.net/2001/swintro/]

Google Toolbar Beta 4.0

Now you can make your Toolbar as unique as you are. You can add buttons and bookmarks; get instant search suggestions; share web pages with friends; and enjoy the Toolbar's pop-up blocker, web form filler, and spellchecker. Learn more about Google Toolbar Beta 4.0 and also get a copy for yourself at http://www.google.com/tools/toolbar/T4/index.html.