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What is the difference between Linux, Mac OS and Windows?

corykennedy — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:41:12 +0000

Many people have asked me over the course of my career "Cory, What is the difference between Linux, Mac OS and Windows?" Typically, I act like I don't hear them, or answer to a question I thought I heard. Such as; "I thought Gene Wilder was perfect for Willy Wonka".

Listing the differences piece by piece would not only be a boring read, but it may not answer any questions you may have. Therefore, to answer the aforeasked question, I have created a simpleton matrix to hit the main points.

For the sake of the article, we are going to assume Ubuntu as the flavor of Linux, OSX for the Mac section and Windows Vista. There are many different looks Linux can take on, so I will focus on the Gnome version, which is the default environment upon installation of Ubuntu.

Can I do these?	Linux (Ubuntu)	OSX	Vista
Photos	Yes	Yes	Yes
Videos	Yes	Yes	Yes
Games	Yes	Yes	Yes
Documents	Yes	Yes	Yes
Media Sharing	Yes	Yes	Yes
Built In "tweakability"	Yes	Yes	Yes
Ease of use (1-10)	3	9	7

As you can see by that pointless table is that, functionality is there across the board. So whats the difference? Presentation and availability. If you are familiar with Windows, Linux is quite the learning curve. If you are familiar with OSX then Windows would be the challenge. Presentation meaning where things are located. For example, in Linux to install a program you have a set of steps to perform, sometimes involving typing commands at a command prompt. Not all Linux installs are this way, but many are. Using MacOSX, you typically drag the program you want to install onto the applications folder, and most of the time while using Windows you double click the install and follow an install wizard.

What do I mean about availability? Software and hardware. A large portion of software has been developed or is intended for Windows. Linux has more free applications than you can shake a stick at, but some are not up to mainstream standards. MacOSX has a specific challenge, finding applications to do what you see a windows counterpart doing. To give you an example, I have a friend who joined a gym and part of that process was the purchase of a "body bug" device. This device basically monitors everything you do physically and you upload that to a PC which spits out data and graphs and charts about your calorie burning etc. My friend is a "Mac person" and this device was only compatible with windows. She was out of luck, however, using VMware we were able to get the device to work. This leads us into emulation, there are many programs to emulate a windows PC within both MacOSX and Linux. The purpose is to get those windows applications you may have purchased or have used before to work on a non-windows PC.

The bottom line, is that all three operating systems have features and problems that are not necessarily show stoppers for usage. Finding the one that fits your work flow style, familiarity and compatibility should be the determining factors on which you choose to use. When people ask me "which do you use?" I reply with "All three, and then some".

selling your home in a buyer's market

Jessica Bermes — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:53:36 +0000

I found this great article from consumerreports.org and thought the information was relevant. Happy reading.

-- Jess

Authored by: consumerreports.org - Published in: consumerreports.org Created on: 2008-03-01

Direct Link: ConsumerReports.orgIf you’re trying to sell a home in the current overstocked real-estate market, you already know that the days of white-hot bidding wars and quick-flipped condos are long gone. The National Association of Realtors says that 2008 home sales will be the lowest since 2002. And early numbers are bearing that out. Nationwide, home sales are down 24 percent from last year, while home prices have dropped 8.2 percent. If that weren’t worrisome enough, the U.S. housing inventory remains bloated and the subprime mortgage crisis has made it tougher for buyers to secure loans.

To make a deal in this market, experts say, sellers need to set the right price and hone their negotiating skills. "Pricing is the single most important thing to get right," says Laura B. Kopple, a real-estate broker in Venice, Fla. "There are too many similar properties out there, so you need aggressive pricing, including incentives. If a home is priced where it should be and it’s appealing, it’s only a matter of time before it sells."

How can you make your home stand out from all the others on the market? Real-estate specialists offer the following tips:

1) Use staging to enhance the home’s appeal.

A professional home stager can make over your home to de-emphasize your personal taste and become more visually appealing to a broader range of buyers. Pros say the key is to clear out clutter and clean, clean, clean. "If you can smell it, you can’t sell it," says Barb Schwarz, a real-estate broker and author of "Home Staging: The Winning Way to Sell Your House for More Money" (John Wiley & Sons, 2006).

Staging can extend from rearranging your furniture to preparing an entire house for sale with rented furniture and accessories. A two-hour consultation with written recommendations for do-it-yourselfers costs around $300. But a full staging of a large home could range from $500 to $5,000, notes Schwarz. Costs average around $1,800 in the Midwest, $2,800 on the West Coast, and $3,800 on the East Coast. Those fees are paid up front to professional stagers, but many real-estate agents include some staging as part of the services they offer that are covered by their commission.

"It’s difficult for people to change a home so it’s functional for them, but arrange it so buyers can imagine themselves in it," says Bernard, who stages homes for her clients. "I had a house listed that had been on the market about three months. The owners had a four-piece sectional in a living room, which was also the entrance to the house. I took apart the sectional and just used two pieces, and stored the other two. It completely changed the room and made it feel twice as big. The house had a deposit within three weeks."

2) Pick the right broker.

Look for local agents who are listing, marketing, and selling in your community even if the market is slow. Ask several of them to make a "listing presentation" to discuss your home’s value, justify their numbers, and how they would market your property.

Peter G. Miller, a syndicated real-estate columnist and creator of OurBroker.com, suggests that you visit open houses held by the brokers you’re considering to see how they handle a listing. Did the broker greet people? Was the home shown to its best advantage? (This includes details like removing pets. Miller recalls one open house where the owner’s roaming dog with "more teeth than a zipper" kept potential buyers from inspecting the backyard.)

Once you decide on a broker, you have three types of listing options. In an open listing, you reserve the right to sell the home yourself and not pay a commission, but you also allow one or more brokers to offer the property. With an exclusive-agency listing, you have one broker but reserve the right to sell the property yourself. An exclusive-right-to-sell listing gives only one broker the right to represent you during the listing term and guarantees the broker a commission. Most Multiple Listing Services will post exclusive-agency and exclusive-right-to-sell listings.

3) Understand the real marketplace.

To negotiate effectively, you need to know up-to-the-minute sale prices—not just what your neighbor’s house sold for last year—and the deal-making behind them. For example, two homes may each have sold for $400,000, but if one owner gave a 3 percent credit for deck repair and a new furnace, that’s a $12,000 reduction. Your agent should be knowledgeable about the details of sales in your area and be nimble enough to revise the marketing plan for your home to reflect changing conditions.

"People need to price themselves under the market because the competition is so stiff," says Allyson Bernard, the owner of Real Estate Professionals of Connecticut. Tighter credit is also having an impact. "A buyer for one of my listings had pre-approved financing that got yanked because the guidelines changed," she says. The change meant she had to sell her own home before qualifying. "She dropped the price of her residence, which was already aggressively priced at just under $200,000, another $30,000," Bernard says. "She was prepared to go down another $15,000 when she got an offer."

4) Sweeten the deal.

Sellers are reportedly offering some unusual sales incentives—plasma TVs, cars, boat slips, vacations, and golf carts—but cash may still be king. "I think dollars carry a lot more weight than a free TV," says Kopple. For example, some sellers have agreed to pay condo maintenance fees for the buyer. "If six similar condos are on the market, and a seller offers to pay the first quarter’s maintenance fees—which run from $225 to $250 a month in this area—that $750 can help make a deal," she says. Other ideas include covering moving expenses or a month’s mortgage payment.

In a slow market, offering to pay a "seller contribution" toward the buyer’s closing costs may make more sense than lowering the sales price. The closing costs include such items as the appraisal fee and title search, points to reduce the mortgage, and attorney and recording fees. "If the seller can give a contribution, it’s in many cases going to be smaller than a price reduction on the home but more appealing to buyers who need cash to close," Miller says. Individual mortgage programs often allow seller contributions ranging from 3 to 6 percent. Borrowers need to check with lenders to see what’s allowed.

Ellen Murphy of Prudential Rand Realty in Nyack, N.Y., tells of a buyer who fell in love with both the home and the owner’s cat. She requested the cat—and got it.

5) Offer a warranty against defects.

A home warranty provides protection for mechanical systems and certain appliances against unexpected repairs in the first year. "We use them quite a bit," says Kopple. "If plumbing or kitchen appliances are on their last legs, I recommend the seller replace them and then get warranties. A lot of warranties will cover items while a property is listed and then convert to the buyer." The cost ranges from $250 to around $400, depending on coverage. Companies that sell warranties include American Home Shield and First American Home Buyers Protection Corp.

6) Be flexible on the deposit.

To "bind" a deal, the buyer should put down a deposit (separate from the down payment), which varies widely depending on the local market. You’d like the biggest deposit you can get, but in a slow market you may have to settle for less. "If the buyer is pre-approved for a loan and has a strong interest in the property, and no better offer is on the horizon, reducing the deposit can help bring in the buyer," Miller says.

7) Curb your enthusiasm.

Walk down your street, then walk back to your home and try to see what other people see. Tend to any overgrown landscaping, and make sure shrubs are nicely trimmed. "When people look for a house, curb appeal is the most important thing, bar none," says Bernard. "People are already forming an opinion when you drive them up to the curb. If the outside looks overgrown, stark, and hard, I’ve had people say, ‘I don’t even want to get out of the car.’"

8) Monitor and update your MLS listing.

If it’s April, you don’t want the photo of your house on the Multiple Listing Service displaying a snowman on the lawn. An out-of-season picture is a dead giveaway that your home has been on the market for awhile. And with many buyers doing their first "look-see" on the Internet, the quality of the photos is paramount, too. "If you have something that sets your property apart—French doors in the living room or a wonderful view—highlight that in a photo," notes Murphy. "Make sure that any unique qualities are emphasized in the write-up, which may not always be apparent, even to a broker." She recalls one co-op owner who had invested in extra "bin space" in her building, where storage was at a premium. The storage bonus helped sell her apartment quickly.

And proofreading the description of your home for the MLS and elsewhere is always a good idea. "I saw a listing recently for a house with a ‘coy pond’ in the back yard," Murphy says. "That must have left buyers scratching their heads."

Blu-Ray players have reached wife friendly pricing.

corykennedy — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:39:47 +0000

Been lying in wait for the prices of blu-ray players to drop from the nation dept range to affordable? All you have to do in live in proximity of an ultimate electronics store and have $149.99 in hand on black friday.

BD player details: Samsung BD-P1500 (retail $300.00-400.00)

Playback Formats : VC-1 / MPEG2 / H.264
BD Profile : profile 1.1
HDMI CEC : Yes
HDMI Outputs(Version) : Yes (1.3)

Melatih Pikiran Terbuka

samsonasik — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:37:49 +0000

Disadur dari milist
Berdasarkan materi oleh: WikiHow
source : http://kupansa.wordpress.com/2006/12/19/melatih-pikiran-terbuka/
(Anda sudah membuka tips ini, janganlah berhenti pada judul. Teruslah membaca, pikiran Anda akan terbuka.)

Pernahkan Anda, merasa diperlakukan tidak menyenangkan oleh orang lain? Saat sesuatu terjadi pada diri Anda, pernahkah Anda merasa bahwa itu adalah sebuah ketidakadilan? Pernahkan Anda, merasa sangat benar dan orang lain salah? Pernahkah Anda merasa sangat ingin untuk mencemooh sesuatu? Apa yang Anda rasakan mungkin benar, akan tetapi waspadalah untuk tetap selalu mencoba membuka pikiran Anda. Mengapa? Karena itu lebih menguntungkan. Karena itu juga lebih menyenangkan. Menjaga diri memang harus, tapi menjaga hati lebih harus. Pikiran terbuka, atau open mind, atau open minded, atau being open minded, telah terbukti menjadi salah satu ciri dari karakter orang-orang besar dan sukses. Sikap open minded-lah yang telah menjadikan mereka orang yang besar dan sukses.

Cobalah Anda renungkan gambaran berikut ini. Orang yang sangat kaya, tidak berbahagia karena kuantitas kekayaannya. Banyak uang bukanlah tentang ‘banyaknya uang’. Satu-satunya perihal kuantitatif yang melekat pada kebahagiaannya, adalah “kuantitas pilihan” sebagai konsekuensi dari kekayaannya.

*”Mau beli apa lagi Saya hari ini?” “Siapa lagi yang mau Saya kasih uang?” “Anak Saya sakit, baiknya masuk ke rumah sakit mana ya?”

* Orang yang punya rumah banyak, tidak berbahagia karena kuantitas rumahnya. Kekayaannya terletak pada pilihan.

*”Sayangku, weekend kali ini mau nginep di villa kita yang mana?”

* Orang yang punya banyak mobil, tidak senang karena kuantitas mobilnya. Ia senang karena kuantitas pilihannya.

*”Hari ini Aku mau pake Jaguar merah aja deh. Besok baru Ferrari yang biru.”

* Orang yang berkuasa, hanya berbahagia jika ia memahami kuantitas dan kualitas pilihan yang muncul dari kekuasaannya.

*”Dengan kuasa yang Saya punya, apa yang bisa Saya lakukan untuk membantu orang banyak?”

* Bisakah kini Anda mengerti, betapa kayanya orang yang kaya? Maukah Anda mengetahui, resep apa yang mereka coba? Resep itu adalah berpikiran terbuka. Dan Anda bisa menjadi kaya saat ini juga, dengan memperbanyak pilihan. Di antaranya, dengan lebih membuka pikiran. Menurut definisinya, open minded kurang lebih adalah:

*”Having or showing receptiveness to new and different ideas or the opinions of others.” * Berpikiran terbuka, akan membuka pikiran Anda. Jadi, Anda pikirkan saja.

Berpikiran terbuka akan mencegah pikiran buntu dan mampet. Berpikiran terbuka akan mencegah Anda dari berpikiran sempit. Anda bisa membayangkan, apa jadinya jika Anda selalu saja menolak buah pikir orang lain, menolak ide bawahan, atau bahkan menolak sesuatu yang orang pada umumnya menerima.

Berpikiran terbuka akan mengeksplorasi pikiran Anda, sehingga Anda menjadi lebih kreatif, intuitif, dan reseptif. Itu artinya, makin tinggi pula peluang kesuksesan Anda. Kreatif, tampil beda, memang sebuah kelebihan. Akan tetapi, tidak sepatutnya hal itu membuat Anda menjadi orang yang berpikiran sempit dan senang mencemooh.

Berpikiran terbuka, akan menjadikan Anda lebih cerdas, lebih berenergi, lebih sosial, lebih kreatif, dan tentu saja; lebih terbuka pada pengalaman dan cara pandang yang baru.

Bagaimana cara melatihnya, berikut ini tips mudahnya.

*STIMULASI TELINGA ANDA DENGAN MUSIK BERBEDA *

Stimulasilah telinga Anda dengan mendengarkan jenis musik, yang Anda jarang atau belum pernah mendengarnya. Belajarlah untuk mengapresiasinya. Dangdut, Keroncong, Gambang Kromong, Campursari, Classical, New Age, Zouk, Rap, Mariachi, Country, Afro-Blues dan sebagainya. Anda memang tak perlu menyukai atau mencanduinya. Anda hanya mencoba lebih terbuka dan belajar mengapresiasinya. Yang namanya musik, selalu menarik.

*STIMULASI MATA ANDA DENGAN PANDANGAN BERBEDA*

Nikmati memandang hal-hal yang berbeda. Cobalah menikmati berbagai bentuk seni visual. Sering-seringlah memandang segala sesuatu, yang bukan melulu kertas, layar monitor, wajah kolega, bawahan atau atasan, atau bahkan sekedar wallpaper di tembok kantor saja. Tontonlah film horor, jika selama ini Anda menghindarinya. Apapun yang menjadi objek pandangan Anda, sepanjang itu tidak buruk atau menjadikan dosa, sekalipun Anda tidak menyukainya, tetaplah berfungsi dengan sebaik-baiknya, yaitu menstimulasi dan memprovokasi pikiran Anda.

*STIMULASI LIDAH ANDA DENGAN MAKANAN YANG BERBEDA*

Yang penting halal dan enak. Cobalah Kebab Afrika. Nikmati sushi. Tinggal Anda pilih saja.

*PELAJARI PERBEDAAN TENTANG ORANG DAN GAYA HIDUPNYA*

Ingat, pelajari saja. Anda tidak perlu menjadi bagian darinya. Apalagi, jika itu memang tidak sesuai dengan sistem tata nilai Anda. Dengan belajar, wawasan Anda akan menjadi kaya. Pikiran Anda akan terbuka.

*PELAJARI SESUATU YANG BARU*

Basket, golf, terjun payung atau bungee jumping jika perlu. Web design, internet, taichi, aikido. Komunikasi, public speaking… Dan seterusnya.

*MILIKI KEMAMPUAN BARU*

Berlatih juggling dengan tiga bola? Tidak mungkin? Tetaplah berlatih dengan pikiran terbuka. Anda bisa. Berlatihlah sulap kartu. Pelajari ping-pong. Tulislah puisi, cerpen atau novel. Dan sebagainya.

*SAAT BERADA DI ANTRIAN *

Lakukan ini: Menghitung Mengingat Memperhatikan Membandingkan Dan sebagainya. *”Buset dah, ini antrian panjang banget. Coba ada berapa orang sih…” “Pintu exit di sana, tangga darurat di situ, toilet ke arah sini…” “Ini yang namanya barcode ya? Gimana sih bikinnya… Kok cuman garis-garis tapi bisa di-scan trus keluar informasi sama harganya…” “Kalo di bioskop yang sono sih, penontonnya tua-tua semua…” *

*IKUTI KELAS DAN EVENT YANG TIDAK UMUM*

Ikuti kursus “Shalat Khusuk” Ambil bagian di seminar “Sukses Bermodal Dengkul” Jadilah peserta “Lomba Lari Mundur” Ikuti “Workshop EDAN” Aktiflah di “Kelompok Penggemar Jangkrik” Jangan tolak quesioner “Apakah Anda Sudah Gila?” Dan sebagainya.

*UBAH TEMPAT FAVORIT ANDA*

Biasa ke Anyer? Cobalah Pulau Puteri. Suka laut? Pergilah ke gunung. Suka gunung? Ke laut aja. Ubah juga rute yang menjadi kebiasaan Anda. Cobalah perjalanan baru. Kemudikanlah sendiri kendaraan Anda, dari Jakarta ke Medan umpamanya.

*KEMBANGKAN KREATIFITAS ANDA *

Kerjakan teka-teki silang dengan berbagai variasinya. Mainkan jangan hanya solitaire, tapi juga spider solitaire. Belajarlah menulis terbalik yang hanya bisa dibaca di depan kaca. Leonardo Da Vinci, melakukannya untuk semua catatannya. Bongkar PC Anda dan rakit kembali. Lakukan overclok. Montiri kendaraan Anda sendiri. Pakai pakaian yang Anda geli memakainya.

*HADAPI KETAKUTAN ANDA *

Takut bicara, bicaralah. Takut ketinggian? Naiklah pesawat. Apapun yang terjadi, ketakutan hanyalah perasaan. Dalam banyak kasus, ia tidak berakibat apa-apa kecuali hanya rasa takut saja.

*LATIHAN W.A.I.T*

Katakan: “* W*hat* A*m *I* *T*hinking?” setiap kali Anda bisa melakukannya. Seperti sekarang misalnya?

*PELAJARI PERSPEKTIF ORANG LAIN*

Apa yang penting baginya? Apa yang disadari dan tidak disadarinya? Apakah pikirannya sama terbukanya dengan Anda? Apa sih niat positif di belakang kelakuan orang ini? Jika Anda selalu melihat gedung A dari sisi kiri jalan, cobalah melihatnya dari sisi kanan jalan, dan rasakan perbedaan persepsi Anda. Jika Anda sering menonton TV bersama seseorang, matikan TV Anda dan mulailah mengobrol dengannya. Perpanjang waktu mengobrol Anda dan perpendek waktu menonton Anda. Mulailah rasakan bagaimana itu lebih nikmat daripada menonton televisi.

*TIPS TAMBAHAN*

Efisienlah dengan memilih aktivitas yang murah bagi Anda. Efisienlah dengan waktu latihan Anda. Jadilah berani. Jangan pernah malu jika itu memang tidak memalukan. Jangan terdiskriminasi oleh trend atau mode. Pakaian Anda sudah ketinggalan jaman? Tidak, itu modis dan trendy untuk Anda. Sepatu Anda terlalu klasik atau konservatif? Tidak, itu modis dan trendy untuk Anda. Mobil Anda butut? Tidak, itu adalah sedan keluaran ‘84 favorit Anda. Modis, dan trendy.

*WARNING*

Be safe. Jagalah keselamatan diri dan hati Anda. Jagalah keselamatan hubungan Anda dengan siapa saja. Jangan memaksa untuk sesuatu yang terlalu berat untuk Anda. Ingatlah bahwa tujuan memiliki pikiran terbuka, adalah mengembangkan pikiran yang sempit. Jangan sampai, pikiran Anda malah tambah sempit.

*KESIMPULAN*

Prinsip dasar dari semua latihan ini, adalah mencoba terbuka dan menjadi terbuka. Menemukan hal baru, belajar keahlian baru, belajar cara berpikir yang baru. Lakukanlah dengan kreatif. Lakukanlah dengan impulsif. Lakukan dengan terbuka. Lakukanlah apa yang belum tercantum di dalam daftar ini. Setiap keputusan yang Anda buat di dalam hidup, didasarkan pada sistem tata nilai dan keyakinan Anda.

Untuk menjadikan pikiran Anda lebih terbuka, mulailah dari dasar sistem tata nilai dan keyakinan Anda. Kemudian bertanyalah, “Mengapa Saya meyakininya? ” Kemudian tanya juga diri Anda, apa yang terjadi pada diri Anda jika Anda tidak lagi meyakininya, dan meyakini hal baru yang bisa jadi sangat berbeda. Bertanyalah pada orang lain tentang apa yang diyakininya. Tanyakan pada mereka, bagaimana mereka bisa memperolehnya. Pahamilah perbedaannya dari diri Anda. Maka temukanlah bahwa Anda, dengan sistem tata nilai dan keyakinan Anda, adalah absolut uniknya. Begitu pula mereka. Sistem tata nilai dan keyakinan teman Anda adalah unik bagi mereka. Anda sendiri, pada dasarnya adalah Anda yang “Gue banget.” Mereka pun, “Mereka banget.”

Pikiran terbuka akan menangguk kenyamanan menghadapi berbagai perbedaan. Pikiran terbuka memberi pilihan lensa untuk suatu objek pemotretan. Pikiran terbuka, akan memperkaya pilihan. Itulah yang dapat membuat Anda sukses dan berjaya. Mungkin, pikiran Anda sudah lebih terbuka sekarang. Bagaimana dengan ini, meneruskan tips ini kepada teman-teman Anda barangkali?

*Ikhwan Sopa* Tips #130: Melatih Pikiran Terbuka: Baca Dulu Tips Ini

Ενημέρωση Φόρου

blogcreator — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:18:15 +0000

Παρακαλώ, εγκαταστήστε την νέα έκδοση Μισθοδοσίας και κάντε ενημέρωση Φόρου.

The Right Hues

michellevruiz — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:00:00 +0000

You’ve picked the date, the place, the perfect dress, and now comes the hard part, the palette. Choosing a color is easy but the combination is often harder than it looks. Imagine starting with just one color, (maybe it’s your favorite or the color you wish your friend would have chosen for your last bridesmaid appearance), then take on the challenge of adding colors that accent and enhance one another. You feverishly gather fabric samples and throw them together only to find that intertwined, they mirror a murky mess. You might come to learn that your favorite colors might not be favorable for each other. How do you ensure your color conundrum doesn’t become a color catastrophe?

Color experts say to go with a scheme you already like right from the start. Luckily, almost anything can inspire a palette. Flip through your favorite artists’ works or check out book covers you are uniquely drawn to. Or better yet, take a look through photo albums to see if the natural light enhances a certain hue you might not have thought of before. Make reservations at your favorite restaurant to check out their color scheme, worse comes to worse you have a good excuse for a nice meal.

Inspiration is everywhere. Color palettes have been derived out of everything from old quilts to fruit salads. Save yourself a headache, and see what grabs your eye before hitting the fabric stores.

*Michelle Ruiz

Feedflix visualizes your Netflix rental habits. Its also wicked sweet.

corykennedy — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 22:52:34 +0000

Netflix analysis has never been easier with free product feedflix (feedflix.com). Simply enter an RSS feed into the feedflix awesomizer (i made that up, it doesnt have a name, but its at the bottom of the page) and it will give you usage details that can help you get the most out of your netflix account. Including, average time movies are kept, cost per movie based on return rate and you can setup alerts to let you know you have kept movies at home too long.

Click the image to see a sample report, which is a snapshot of my actual account.

Maintain your DE filter correctly!

swimminghole — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 17:22:28 +0000

Swimming pool service Dallas, pool service Dallas Texas, Dallas swimming pool service

If your swimming pool is equipped with a DE filter, it is incredibly important that you maintain the DE levels properly. Different manufacturers of DE (diatomaceous earth) filters change the basic layout of the internal components, but the basic idea is that your plumbing runs pool water into your filter to a manifold, which serves a purpose of holding together vertical grids and pushing the water down these grids as it flows into the filter. Each grid serves as a small filter to catch particles of dirt and debris as it flows though, thus filtering your swimming pool water like a strainer.

In a DE filter, DE powder is added into your skimmer (while the swimming pool equipment is running) and the DE powder clings to the filter grids as it flows into the filter. This is the only proper way to add DE powder to a filter as the housing for your filter must be closed to maintain pressure. Since filters operate under fairly high pressure, it is very important that you properly understand how to operate your filter before tinkering around. If you are unsure, contact a Dallas swimming pool service technician to walk you through the process or to provide the swimming pool service Dallas for you at least once so you can watch and learn the process.

DE filters generally need to be backwashed about once per month. Certain times of the year, you may need to backwash a filter as often as once per week. Generally, this is directly related to how much material the filter needs to remove from the water. If your pool gets a lot of dirt and small debris from landscaping or swimmers, then the pressure on your filter will rise as that debris makes its way into the filter via the skimmers, automatic pool cleaners, or when pool cleaners dallas vacuums into your suction line while providing dallas pool services. In the event that algae develops in your swimming pool, the process of chemically killing off the algae means as the algae dies it gets filtered out of the water.

The pressure gauge on your DE filter is one easy indicator for when your filter needs to be backwashed or when it is time to have your Dallas swimming pool service company clean your filter. When you backwash a filter, your are temporarily pushing water at the grids to essentially splash water at the grids under pressure to wash them off while inside the filter. This process removes the dirt and debris on the filter, but you will lose your DE powder at the same time. One critical mistake many homeowners make is to backwash their filter without having any DE powder to put back in. Think of DE powder as a protective coating that goes over your grids and the coating is full of little hollow particles which capture dirt. The DE powder comes right off the grids during a backwash process or a filter cleaning. If DE powder isn't coating your grids, then the dirt and debris collects on the grids directly and applies more pressure since the water is blocked from passing through in the strainer like process. This pressure is what causes grids to deteriorate quickly. When pressure pinpoints a certain area of the grids, this causes the grids to develop holes or for the internal plastic structure that holds the canvas like material on the outside of the grids together to become crushed in certain places. As soon as this happens, your filter will stop functioning properly.

When your filter develops a hole, then the pressure passes through the hole into the next grid in line and a bit like a laser punching a hole through several layers of material, the water slowly works its way through one grid after another until you have a hole lined up right through all of your grids. When you backwash your DE filter, it is a good idea to watch your jets after you put more DE powder back in. If you see a little cloud of dirt coming out of the jets in your spa, this is often a sign that the filter has developed a problem. Sometimes a little blow back is common with certain filters, so you'll have to learn the tendencies of your equipment over time. Once you've had a swimming pool service Dallas clean your filter at least one time and have watched the process of how your grids come apart from the manifold and go back together, you can take a shot at doing it yourself if you're the handy type and want to try to save some money on the service.

However, most people who clean their own pools still prefer to have pool cleaners Dallas help them with this process since it can be very messy and there are a lot of little things to look for during a filter inspection to make sure everything is in proper working order. Having a pool services Dallas technician inspect your filter with a trained eye to catch a problem with one grid early can save you hundreds of dollars rather than missing the opportunity to catch a problem before it spreads and forces you to purchase a full set of grids for your filter.

We'll provide additional insight later with respect to DE filters, but for now remember it is very important to keep DE powder in your filter after you backwash! How much you add depends on the size of your filter and if you are recharging your system from a backwash or from a full filter cleaning. We'll discuss determining the size of your DE filter in the next post but in the meantime you can look at the back of a bag of DE powder for a guide on how much DE powder to add. If you're unsure, contact Pool cleaners Dallas, Pool services Dallas for additional information and helpful tips.

Remember that one tiny hole in your filter grids is all it takes for your pool to develop algae, even if the chemicals are properly balanced and it is cleaned on a weekly basis by a swimming pool service Dallas company.

Want to hack your neighbors wifi encryption 10,000 times faster?

corykennedy — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 13:46:31 +0000

Wireless insecurity is something that many people have written or warned about. Even yours truly has written a published article for 2600 magazine about the same subject. Using parallel processing, russian "hackers" have been able to make any wifi encryption pretty much worthless. If you are connected to, or host a wireless network in your home of office be sure you take precautions with sensitive data. There are many options to choose from.

Mencegah virus autorun masuk ke flashdisk

khiang — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 13:27:25 +0000

Lebih baik mencegah daripada mengobati... Itulah kata yg cocok buat menangani virus lokal yg banyak beredar saat ini. Media flashdisk yg sering kita gunakan untuk mentransfer & menyimpan data ternyata sering ditumpangi pembuat virus untuk menyebarkan virusnya ... Salah satu contohnya adalah virus yg memanfaatkan file autorun.inf untuk menyebarkan virus. Dengan adanya file autorun.inf yg dicopykan ke root flashdisk kita, virus dapat dijalankan begitu kita melakukan double klik icon flashdisk di My Computer. Jikalau PC sudah terinfeksi, bisa dibayangkan akibat ulah dari virus lokal yg suka blok ini & itu melalui registry windows.

Tips berikut mungkin dapat mencegah supaya flashdisk tidak menjadi media penyebaran virus yg memanfaatkan file autorun.inf

Buatlah sebuah folder di dalam flashdisk, beri nama folder tersebut dgn nama autorun.inf jikalau muncul pesan error seperti gambar dibawah berarti flashdisk Anda kemungkinan sudah terinfeksi virus, karena sudah terdapat file dgn nama autorun.inf didalam flasdisk.

[caption id="attachment_571" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="folder dgn nama autorun.inf berhasil dibuat"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_572" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="folder autorun.inf gagal dibuat"][/caption]

Didalam folder autorun.inf yg dibuat, buat lagi sebuah folder & sebuah text document, rename folder & text document tersebut dgn menggunakan huruf CJK (chinese, japan, korea). Untuk memilih huruf CJK yg kita inginkan buka character map dari start - all programs - accesories - system tools, pilih font arial unicode. atau copy paste text berikut 遱道遾邂邅

[caption id="attachment_595" align="aligncenter" width="230" caption="foder & text document yg telah direname dgn huruf CJK"][/caption]

Jikalau setelah direname, nama file & folder hanya berbentuk kotak-kotak sperti gambar diatas, kemungkinan, komputer belum diinstal fonts yg mendukung. Abaikan saja hal tersebut...

Langkah terakhir adalah memberikan attribut hidden, read only dan system (+h +r +s) kepada folder autorun.inf yg kita buat, klik start - run - cmd, pindah ke drive letter flashdisk dgn mengetikkan drive letter flashdisk kita pada jendela cmd (drive letter flashdisk dapat dilihat dgn membuka my computer). Lihat gambar dibawah ...
[caption id="attachment_589" align="aligncenter" width="350" caption="contoh drive letter flashdisk = m"][/caption]

Mengapa dgn tips ini flashdisk akan terproteksi? Pertama, menghapus file berbeda dengan menghapus folder. Kedua, windows tidak mengijinkan pembuatan nama file+extensi yg sama dgn folder. Ketiga didalam folder autorun.inf terdapat lagi folder dan file sehingga akan mempersulit virus. Keempat penggunaan huruf CJK dapat mempersulit virus menghapus file atau folder karena virus yg ditulis dgn vbscricpt tidak mendukung character CJK

Tips diatas hanya akan memproteksi flasdisk agar tidak menjadi media penyebaran virus lebih jauh, jikalau flashdisk dicolok ke komputer yg ada virusnya, kemungkinan file didalam flashdisk masih akan tetap terinfeksi. Namun akan mencegah virus membuat file autorun.inf sehingga jikalau flashdisk tersebut dipindah ke komputer lain, virus tidak akan berjalan secara otomatis ...

Semoga bermanfaat ... :)

Hung Over o Hang Over?

eph — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 04:57:02 +0000

Diba kapag tapos ka na uminom, pagkagising mo pa sasakit ang ulo mo? PAGKATAPOS diba! bakit HANG, eh present tense un dapat past tense.

O bastos ba pakinggan kapag HUNG Over?.

O mali ba term na ginagamit ko?

Heniweys, usually ginagawa ko pagkagising ko tapos parang may dumudurog sa ulo ko, umiinom lang ako ng madaming tubig. nadedehydrate daw kasi kapag nag-iinom ng alcohol so yung cranial pressure daw ay tumataas(tumataas nga ba o bumababa? nakalimutan ko na). kaya daw sumasakit ulo mo, plus yung effect din ng alcohol. pero at least mababawasan yung sakit.

tapos sundin mo ang payo ni John Lloyd.

Mag-BIOGESIC. safe kahit hindi kumain. INGAT

Tunawisma Gampang Kok Buat Dapet Tempat Tinggal

fadinna — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 03:59:44 +0000

Kalau-kalau niyh, suatu waktu kita nggak punya uang, terlunta-lunta saat melakukan perjalanan jauh. Nah,,, sedikit ada tips niyh buat anda sekalian.

Tipsnya : carilah masjid terdekat, minta izin pada Marbot Masjid buat menumpang bermalam di Masjid tersebut. Jika berniat tinggal lebih dari satu hari, pintar-pintarlah mengambil hati Kyai, Pak Haji atau Ustad dengan membantu mereka.

Misalnya Mengajak mereka ngobrol tentang agama, Beradzan jika diberi kesempatan, komat atau bisa juga membantu marbot membersihkan Masjid.

Untuk hasil yang lebih tokcer, lakukanlah improvisasi semampunya.

Tips kecil: Jangan lupa berdoa pada Allah memohon perlindunganNya dimanapun kita berada.

Automatic Rapidshare downloader

reavenm — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 03:54:35 +0000

CryptLoad is an automatic rapidshare and many others file hosting sites like megaupload, ect.. is a downloader for free users and premium as well but i am focusing in free users, just paste the links of the file you want to download in the program or just right click in the link and the program automatically detect it giving you the option to add it to the queue then the program automatic download all the files so you don't have to wait the time limit of every file. it works as of the date of this post.

get it from

http://cryptload.info/download/

When every mile is earned..

Cecilia — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:28:57 +0000

An unusually sunny weekend has greeted us here in London and I'm off on another long ride to unwind from a crazy week and to prepare myself for yet another next week.

Riding fixed is a very rewarding way of doing it - a 80 to a 100 km loop into the beautiful surroundings of Virginia Water on a fixie rather than a roadbike not only earns the respectful looks of passing roadies out on their club run, but when you cover distances like that - fixie riding goes from the annoying stop-start of town riding to a kind of meditation where you go for long periods of time without having to stop. Your legs turn rhytmically and your mind wanders off, you are relaxed, but alert like a cat and above all, every mile is earned. No coasting or resting, in fact you learn to rest your legs even when they are turning by virtue of the fixie momentum.

Winter is coming and what better way to start building that base fitness level than by dusting off your fixie and overcoming that mental barrier of thinking that you can only really cover long distances if you are on a road bike. If you are in doubt, you can always go for a reckie on the roadbike and design yourself a route with manageable hills and you'll be surprised just how many hills you can cover on a fixie if you couple patience with technique and some core strength. In fact, battling your way methodically up a hill on a fixie is good training not only for your legs, but arms and core muscles too.

So I'm off - sunshine needs to be enjoyed while it lasts! (At least if you live in Britain!)

How to blog, and then blog some

Shaun Livingstone — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 09:36:25 +0000

As I've mentioned before I'm new at this whole blogging business. I even took the courage to mail a blogger supreme this morning asking for advice on technicalities and thingies. I'm still trying out a lot of things, figuring out how things works, what I can use and what I can ignore.

Imagine my surprise then, now that I've spotted an eerily fresh article by Ga'len over at The Wandering Druid of Tranquility regarding this very subject. A good read and already after one swift first read-through I've found some tips to take to my heart.

Heck, being able to write an article that gets automagically posted somewhere down the timeline? Yeah, I think I can find a use for that :) A to-do list for people with laughably bad short-term memories? Sign me up for some of that.

There's a real boom in the number of EVE blogs right now. Soon Jita will be emptied, cos of everyone sitting and writing about the game they ought to be playing. The humanity.

Mengganti port apache pada xampp

samsonasik — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 08:43:55 +0000

Sering para programmer yang punya banyak project, munggunakan multi aplikasi dalam setiap projectnya, nah, bagi seorang programmer yang menggunakan PHP & ASP secara bersamaan, biasanya harus secara gantian untuk menjalankan servis apache atau IIS nya, nah, tentu ini merepotkan ketika kedua project sama-sama kejar tayang (deadline), nah, cara nya , kita ganti aja port apache PHP kita (yang saya coba di xampp).
caranya, buka file httpd.conf kita, lalu cari string kata : Listen 80 , ganti dengan port lain, misal 81, terus restart apache nya, nah, sekarang kita bisa panggil aplikasi PHP kita dengan memanggil http://localhost:81 sehingga tidak bentrok dengan ASP.

semoga bermanfaat. :)
sumber : http://www.apachefriends.org/f/viewtopic.php?t=20376

Karl and his XAML Power Toys

marlongrech — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 06:56:26 +0000

Karl Shifflett has done a great job in his new XAML Power Toys. This tool can really speed up development big time. I am simple amazed at the ideas that this guy has. The actual tool really does work... I use it every day and it makes my development so much faster. So guys, if you do not have it just go and get it.

Project Management Processes, Phases, and Personal Notes

rharbridge — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:33:29 +0000

(Cross posted from Project Analysis Blog: http://projectanalysis.wordpress.com)

One question I am asked often is how I manage my SharePoint projects, what stages I go through and how I perform/manage each phase of a project. This is probably something you already do, but perhaps it's good to see some examples of how other people manage projects, so feel free to read along.

Personal Note:

This is a high level summary of what I do in a typical project and is not every individual item. SharePoint is also mentioned throughout this article because it is the technology I most often use when working on projects and organizing information.

Before the Project Starts

Before I start a project I create areas to capture knowledge (KB, and lessons learned), following that I begin the process of the project itself. This is important to do right at the start because even during the pre-project phases you can come up with some interesting notes, concepts, or lessons learned.

Right now I always do this knowledge capture using SharePoint with a mixture of wiki's and related concepts. So this area is already built and all I need to do is create a 'project' and ensure the 'customer', 'client', and 'area of business' represented is also within the knowledge area to ensure anyone who comes up with something new can create articles, upload documents and basically create content that will be associated to that project, client, or business area.

Personal Note:

I normally break a project down into the following phases. Every project, regardless of the size. The good thing is that I do NOT enforce specific templates for each phase. I love the idea of templates in that they can save you time and certainly have some that I can make use of, but it's important to not force yourself to fill out a document and certain content placeholders just because 'its part of the template'. This can often create confusing statements, is a waste of effort, and really can detract from the important parts of the document.

Definition Phase

Domain Analysis

I always start off with some sort of domain analysis. That is analysis of the current environment, configuration, and system that is in place. How do things interact with one another? What applications already exist? What version are they? How are they used?

The results of this analysis will should contain an overview of the current servers, third party applications, shared service providers, configurations, and web applications, and existing site collections. I personally like to use excel documents for this (I know I could use SharePoint lists and may consider doing so in the future). Once these have been identified and cataloged the next phase of work can begin.

Requirements Analysis

Based on the objectives and target audience a series of business requirements must be retrieved. These requirements can come from business stakeholders, potential administration, and end users. It may be necessary to hold requirement gathering workshops with various involved parties in order to better understand how people would like to use the eventual system and how the system can provide them the most benefit.

Important things to note from personal experience during the requirements gathering phase:

Involve every stakeholder in this requirements gathering. Even if it's just to briefly talk about the requirements you have gathered from a high level. This will allow them to feel more involved in providing any input and requirements they might have and ensures that later when the system is being developed or implemented there are no significant surprises or missed requirements.
Ensure you document the motivational reasons for a requirement as well as the requirement itself. This can really help you or the individual drafting the technical specification determine the correct solution for that individual requirement. This sounds simple but you would be surprised at how many people just document Requirements 1A-200C and forget to explain why these requirements even exist. This also can help you if later down the road someone says why did we do this?
Prioritize the Requirements. Its important to identify 'must have', 'would like to have', and 'if there's time' categorizations for every requirement. Its also a good idea to have further priority information. This extra priority information combined with the motivational reasons should make it clear where you need to spend most of your time, or make sure that the solution absolutely covers these areas.

Functional Specification

These requirements and the knowledge you have gained from the client now allows you to create what is often referred to as a functional specification. This outlines how the users expect to interact with the system, outlines their requirements and ensures that unanswered questions are resolved.

Some important points:

Only one person should OWN (and write) the functional specification. This is very important. This ensures one person is responsible, one person can be referenced for information, and that the creative ideas and concepts represented (while based on many peoples input) is written and communicated by one individual. If the project is very large and this doesn't seem feasible for one person break it into two smaller projects and have each person write their own specification for a part of it.
Always have a developer or someone who will be writing the technical specification review your functional specification. This review should help point out gaps in the document, or knowledge so that you can interact with the client and retrieve answers without disrupting the technical specification process. (You don't want the technical specification to start until the functional requirements have been hammered out if at all possible, that way you will not potentially need to redo some technical specification work if requirements change.)
There should never be a question mark in the functional specification. Everything written in here will be signed off on and it should be complete. Ensure if you aren't sure about something that it is classified as out of scope.
The functional specification must not contain details on how it will be technically implemented. This is the kind of information that should be contained in the technical specification which is developed from the functional specification. The functional specification should contain a 'from the user' perspective.
If possible provide scenarios. Scenarios are one of the easiest ways for any reader to understand something. It gives a real world example for how something works and can provide addition insight into why, and how it could be done.
Make it READABLE. This one is very simple. If possible make it fun to read, or if that's not possible ensure the language it is written in is to the point and easy to read. Never complicate it with business jargon or add extra adjectives to describe something just because you want to sound savvy or the document to seem 'more professional'.
Include a sort of 'executive summary' or overview that is short, to the point and describes high level what the functional specification outlines in more detail. This will allow those who don't need to read the entire thing to still understand the information it contains.
Include as much detail as possible. If you outline that there is a requirement for notification to be sent to a user make sure you write exactly what the notification will say, and identify any options or actions that can result from this notification.

Design and Architecture

Technical Specification and Architecture

Developer or Architect creates a technical specification or a 'design doc' as often I hear it being referred to as. Content contained in the technical specification can include how the solution will be built, what technologies will be used, what the server requirements and hardware requirements are, stuff like that.

Provide specific instructions for how things will work and if possible their dependencies. As an example if you know your end solution will most likely utilize a notification service that will require email provide this information in a clear manner so that upon sign off (or even before sign off) the analyst, consultant, or account manager assigned to interact with the client can begin getting you the things you eventually will need.

Graphic Specification, and Visual Design (or Screen Engineering)

With the technical specification complete we can now document how the screens, components, messages, and features will look to the end user. To be honest, I am not a graphic designer, or even really a designer. So my advice on this area is going to be limited in scope.

What I would recommend here are these few things:

Make a specific note that these are recommended screen designs but that the end result may differ slightly. The initial screen designs rarely capture every single aspect of the solution and do not get modified at some point. They are the guideline and really help clients, developers, and anyone else involved understand what to expect. Since this is setting their expectations make certain they realize that minor adjustments may be necessary to make it more functional or user friendly down the road.
Notify the client of any graphical changes. If you do make a graphical change or desire to make one after the client has signed off and the project has started in earnest, make certain you notify them. Get them involved even if it's not an active role to make sure that it reduces potential trouble down the road.
Do not add extra functionality to make things look nicer. Keep in mind you have a limited amount of time for this project. The designs should mirror what is outlined in the functional and technical specifications. Often (by accident) a graphic designer may adjust something to make it look nicer but not realize the implications that adjustment can have. It's important to think about everything that might be effected by visual adjustments.
Have technical staff review the design. Don't just have the analyst, or consultant review the design make sure the developers also review it. They may point out inconsistencies or potentially better ways of presenting information or taking user input. They know the tools available to them, and in SharePoint as an example will know the effort required to style and adjust certain items, over others. (Example changing the way a list presents information as opposed to adjusting a master page.)

Development Plan and Project Plan

Based on estimates for how long tasks should take and a logical rational breakdown of responsibilities create a project plan. I normally use Microsoft Project because it makes it easier to modify later, tell what's on the critical path, manage resources across projects, and so on and so forth.

Important Note:Don't forget your communication, training and support plans! These should be all elaborated on and clearly identified at this stage along with their time and associated cost. SLA agreements might be created here, or communication plans. So keep in mind that while I am only describing briefly the project plan and development plan that there are a great many other potentially required plans and agreements necessary before you should move beyond the planning stage.

Create a development plan based off of the technical specification and the design specification. Ensure all estimates, times and tasks have been delegated under this plan.

Depending on the environment I like to use a RACI model for both plans.

RACI in this case stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. Basically for each developer/team member I make sure that it is clear whether they are responsible, accountable, need to be consulted, or need to be informed of each and every task. This is normally pretty easy to do, but it makes sure that everyone always knows who needs to be consulted with, informed of changes, or who is accountable for a task being complete etc.

Personal Note:

This doesn't always make sense. There are some teams that may take offense to the concept, and it isn't always the easiest thing to keep track of. However in important projects I believe this is an integral piece because without a RACI model implemented you cannot always determine what might have gone wrong, or how it can be resolved in the future. Personally I always use one and fill it out regardless, but it is best if each member has input and agrees to the RACI for each task.

One thing I also do is often use Project Server to really expand my capabilities in regards to being able to show the project plan, baselines, etc without actually requiring a user to download project. This is especially important because project can really be a scary big thing for most users upon first beginning to use it. It also saves lots of cost and some space on all the developer and related project personnel.

Specification and Project Plan Sign Offs

All stakeholders sign off on the functional, technical, and design specifications as well as the project plans. Everyone must be in agreement from the customers to the teams that will be implementing it. This saves time down the road, as it's more costly to make changes to projects further into the project and ensures that all involved parties have been included and have taken responsibility for the solution.

Personal Note:

If there is trouble making the technical specification most of the time it is because the functional specification and requirements have not been fully identified. If the design specification has lots of trouble then it's probably the functional or technical specification that might be at the root of these issues.

Development

The development phase is fairly straight forward. The technical specification has broken down the technical details. The design specification has broken down the look and feel. The development plan has broken down the tasks and responsibilities.

With all of those in place this is a smooth and easily managed phase of the project. It also has HIGH visibility of where things stand because you can always compare against the development plan, technical spec and visual designs.

Personal Note:

Standards are a wonderful thing but continue to evaluate them to ensure that they remain current, relevant, and useful. Keep things structured if possible as this helps you keep estimates more accurate. However do not crush your teams with impossible to meet standards. These provide no benefit and detract from the important of standards. Make sure all goals and standards are attainable and have clear indication of why they assist developers and team members.

Security Testing

One thing that I have seen over the past few years is a new more specific form of testing for security. In today's world security is becoming more and more specialized and more and more important. To this end it might make sense to have a security team perform security tests, provide input on potential vulnerabilities, and often elaborate on ways to improve security for the code, application or system.

Unit Testing and QA Testing

There is unit testing and there is Quality Assurance testing. These are totally different things. In unit testing you will test individual components, and then STILL in unit testing you will test things integrated with one another often in a SIT environment. When all of this testing is completed and everything looks perfectly solid you move it to QA for testing. But only once you have fully tested the components.

QA will evaluate whether it matches the visual designs, and the functional specification. In some cases also the technical specification. Their job is more to just assure that the quality is there and come up with tests that the development team would not have thought of. Unexpected user inputs, or ways in which the user can use the system (still using the functional specification as a guideline) that maybe the development team missed.

Personal Note:

It is important to have a SIT (integrated testing area for all the individual modules and components) environment for development as well as a seperate QA environment. Keep in mind that all these environments should match as best as possible the client's environment to avoid environmental issues and troubleshooting that might be needed down the road.

Deployment

Documentation

Before you deploy anything anywhere it should be clearly documented what you will do, what performance and outage's it could result in, and how the changes you make can be undone.

Along with all of this you should also have any help documentation, user manuals, administrator manuals, and other documentation that is produced in your project complete or very clearly defined before implementing any solution on a client's environment.

Lastly, document exactly what you do in that environment so that you can diagnose issues, or protect yourself from being blamed for unrelated issues.

UAT Testing

User Acceptance Testing is very important. This is where users review the solution in their own environment and ensure that their expectations have been met and that it is a usable beneficial system. Earlier in the plan it was important to note that any communication and training should be clearly identified. It is also important to note that if at all possible preliminary training at least should be done before UAT. This will ensure that your resources at UAT are not teaching people how to use the system as much as ensuring it meets or exceeds all of their expectations.

Personal Note:

For projects where the client doesn't have the money or interest in training I normally expand the UAT cycle to account for the fact I (or my team) will also be training while performing the user testing.

UAT Fix and Testing Cycles

Taking any exceptions from UAT and ensuring that they are fixed and fully tested and then if needed ensure that the user has accepted the changes as well before moving on to the final deployment.

These cycles can often go back and forth more than once depending on how good communication with the client has been, how well client expectations have been managed, and how accurate the initial specifications and plans were.

Final Deployment

Your last deployment (aside from updates and new releases). This follows the same documentation rules as before.

Communication and Training

This is the full training, and communication phase. Often this could be workshops, webcasts, training sessions, assisting the organization with posters and improving internal user acceptance or user adoption etc etc.

Support and Feedback

SLA's might contain what your support details are. Often this could be fixes, warrantees, upgrades, or even live support. It really depends on what you identified with the client. I also like to ensure that feedback is gained from the client. This provides a wonderful opportunity to create business references, case studies or other great marketing tools because the solution is new, exciting, and in (hopefully) most cases the client is very happy and satisfied.

Hope this helps someone or stirs some ideas for how to better manage your project through it's phases,
Richard Harbridge

Je Eigen Reis Website

wetenschapper — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:09:45 +0000

Vandaag heb ik weer een nieuwe leuke site ondekt:http://www.reisprofiel.nl/

Via deze website kunnen andere mensen je volgen op vakantie. er is plaats voorzien voor een kaart, foto's, reisverhalen, tabs en veel meer. Veel handiger dan het opzetten van een blog voor je vakantie

Een mooi voorbeeldje van een profiel is: http://fietsen-rome.reisprofiel.nl/

Manuel Delanda - Cities as Historical Actors

Andrew R Haas — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 06:30:24 +0000

Hey Everyone,

I was listening to a podcast today that I think would really benefit our projects, it directly talks about urban space in relation to ecology and economics. Its from the College of Design Fall Lecture Series 2007.

Manuel DeLanda, adjunct associate professor,
Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University (New York) and professor for contemporary philosophy and science, European Graduate School (Switzerland)

September 17th, 2007

Manuel Delanda - Cities as Historical Actors: Ecological, Linguistic, and Economic Aspects of Urban Life

Also, if your interested at all in finding more podcasts, I will include a link to the lecture series:

College of Design: Events & Lectures Series

Here is another very interesting podcast on design in general as well, if you don't want to listen you can read the manuscripts on his blog:

Design Guy

Enjoy,

Andrew

Interesting Site Analysis + Diagramming Techniques

Andrew R Haas — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 06:05:00 +0000

Hey Everyone,

I came across a very interesting firm website that has some pretty interesting site analysis and diagrams. The website has a cool interface as well.

Check it out,

Andrew

CARME PINOS ARQUITECTURA

Inpaklijst: Wat neem je mee op vakantie

wetenschapper — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:29:47 +0000

Ik heb vandaag een leuke website ondekt: inpaklijst.nl

Op deze website kan je een gedetailleerde lijst krijgen van wat je moet meenemen op vakantie. Je kan hier aangeven: welk type vakantie je zult doen, welke activiteiten, welke locatie en de website zal een gedetailleerd overzicht geven van je bagage lijstje.

Kortom: gebruik inpaklijst.nl voor het ultieme baggage lijstje en je vergeet niets meer in te pakken.