TaskDialog.NET

Microsoft Windows Vista introduced a new standard dialog box, called task dialog, to present choices in a clear and consistent way, with a standardized look and layout to replace the old message box which has often been used to create dialog boxes that are difficult to understand and use.

There are no standard classes in .NET framework to work with task dialogs and also there’s no alternative what to do when an application is run on operating system other than Windows Vista. The TaskDialog.NET component provides classes. NET developers can use to add Vista-style task dialogs to their .NET applications that will work on any platform supported by the .NET Framework. Developers simply use TaskDialog class in their code to construct task dialogs as needed and when showing the task dialog the TaskDialog.NET will either use native task dialog API if available (on Windows Vista) or use standard .NET classes to construct identical task dialog on other operating systems.

Sony Ericsson brings Flash, Java together for phones

Sony Ericsson wants mobile software developers to have the best of both worlds.
Next week at JavaOne, the company plans to demonstrate its Project Capuchin, which will allow software developers to create applications for mobile phones that can use pieces of both Java ME and Adobe Systems’ Flash Lite to create their applications. The company plans to release a set of APIs (application programming interfaces) and a software development kit in the second half of this year to bring the two different mobile development styles together.

For example, Java developers could decide to use the richer user interface technology found in Flash Lite, said Ulf Wretling, general manager, head of developer program and communications for Sony Ericsson. Or maybe a developer wants to use Java’s three-dimensional graphics for a mobile game but would prefer to use Flash Lite for menus, he said.
The problem with this kind of project is that while it creates a “bridge” between the two technologies, as Wretling put it, it also pulls developers away from the current road map for both Java and Flash Lite. The difference here is that developers will still be able to create regular Java or Flash applications using this set of APIs, just mixing and matching technology from the other camp as needed.
This technology will be used on the mass-market mobile phone, not the smartphone category with more sophisticated operating systems. Sony Ericsson phones will arrive in the second half of the year with this technology, but the company plans to release the software development kit before the phones arrive.

Woopra- a live analytics tool

Woopra is the world's most comprehensive, information rich, easy to use, real-time Web tracking and analysis application. And it's free! It provides exciting, LIVE data about your visitors as they explore your site. Web site stats might be interesting to those of us who have Web sites, but Woopra makes stats addictive and quite frankly, entertaining. It’s sticky, and if you own a Web site, you’re going to want to have it running on a screen, the same way a day trader keeps a stock ticker and CNBC running non-stop.

Woopra is available to Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux users as a “limited” beta at the moment. And only system requirement absolutely vital to the application’s operation is Java SE 1.6. As a commenter on GeekBrief’s post on the launch noted, some Mac users may not have the latest Java install. Version 1.6 can be found at this page.

Best Solution fo install Apache, PHP, MySQL,Perl - XAMPP

XAMPP looks to be an excellent alternative to consider if you need to install Apache, PHP, MySQL, and Perl. It's a free file that installs and configures the software on Linux, Windows, and Solaris.

Two days ago, i installed it, and it is a very easy to install Apache Distribution for Linux, Solaris, Windows and Mac OS X. The package includes the Apache web server, MySQL, PHP, Perl, a FTP server and phpMyAdmin.

Tuning your browser

BROWSERS can be tunned. For Firefox, this means downloading add-ons from free developers (http://addons.mozilla.org).

This applies for Opera as well (http://widgets.opera.com).

Internet Explorer is considered by many to fail to offer sufficient protection against hackers and for privacy.

The IE7pro plug-in offers functionality for the browser(http://www.ie7pro.com).

Build your own mobile website in minutes

(1) No software to install. If you can browse,



(2) you can build Websites guaranteed to work consistently on all mobile phones



(3) Host your website wherever you want



(4) Complete service is free & runs on donations!





Read More http://www.mobisitegalore.com/

Secure Your Doc and Info - HandyBits EasyCrypto Deluxe

We know how much users dislike to pay for software on the Net. Many people prefer to use freeware (sometimes even low quality products) instead of paying for products made by professionals. Handybits is free of charge for home users. You can encrypt both standalone files and entire folders.The high level of security is ensured by using the well-known unbeatable 128-bit key BlowFish algorithm.You can also add several files or entire folders to an encrypted EasyCrypto ZIP file. When you send this type of archive to someone, the recipient just needs to install EasyCrypto to extract the folders. After you encrypt files, EasyCrypto securely wipes originals automatically. It is really a good freeware to secure your documents.

Twhirl - A Twitter Client

Twhirl is a desktop client for the Twitter microblogging service. Most of the features available on the Twitter website are accessible through twhirl, too. Plus, a lot of usability enhancements have been added.

It goes without saying that one of the most popular AIR applications is the Twitter client, Twhirl. Although it never got a write-up by any top blogs, it seems that everyone discovered this app on their own anyway. One of the best things about Twhirl is that it can be used to connect to multiple Twitter accounts. This is very useful for those that keep a Twitter account for personal use and a separate one for a business or service that they run. The Twhirl app demonstrates how AIR apps bring the web to the desktop, as it can dock in the system tray, just like a real desktop application does. You can search Twitter users, view their timelines, and choose to follow or unfollow them as you like. You can also search the public timeline in a feature that is powered by another web service, terraminds. Twhirl automatically fetches your friends' status updates, direct messages, and replies, while color-coding different types of messages. You'll receive both visual and audible notifications of tweets, with new messages displaying in a preview pop-up. Within Twhirl, you can easily post links via the URL-shortening feature provided by snurl.com. The app is skinnable and comes with multiple color schemes built-in that you can choose from. Overall, Twhirl is one of the best Twitter clients, and one of the best AIR apps, too. Download it here.

Socializing Your Blog - WordPress Plugin: Socialize Me!

Making the most of Social Media & Social Networking is the goal of just about every ‘blogger. Imagine if you could reach out to all those visitors from StumbleUpon, Digg, Delicious et cetera, right from your articles…

Converting the traffic to your blog is only part of the challenge. Other than your blog feed, how else do you connect with those visitors?

Simply hoping that they’ll click on one or maybe two of your social profiles is more haphazard than hopeful.

Imagine one of your articles has been submitted to StumbleUpon. You’re getting a steady stream of visitors to your blog. You could really connect with some of these guys — if you knew who they were.

Well here’s the thing, with Socialize Me! those visitors to your ‘blog will see a simple message when they arrive: “Hi, thanks for the visit! Wayne's on StumbleUpon, too!” with a link to your profile.

With the Socialize Me! Plugin for WordPress you can connect with people on services like: StumbleUpon, Facebook, Digg, Delicious, Pownce, Twitter, Bebo, MySpace and many, many more.

All you do is add in your profiles and usernames and let my Socialize Me! Plugin do the rest. It’s that simple.

Live Global Clouds for Google Earth

Global Cloud Layer add-on for Google Earth.

Live Global Clouds for Google Earth shows you the current global cloud layer, which is updated every 3 hours. The cloud images are based on maps from GMS, METEOSAT and GOES.

The add-on also includes the option to view clouds at several altitudes with an realistic shadow effect in Google Earth.

The Online WYSIWYG Editor for Flash - Sprout

Sprout is a browser-based, WYSIWYG editor for Flash with an interface reminiscent of Photoshop or Dreamweaver. Designers can use it to create, publish and track Flash widgets, websites and mashups, thereby obviating the need for them to work with programmers who would cost time and money, and who might not execute designs satisfactorily.

The application itself is entirely Flash/Flex-based and won’t require account registration for first-time users (that is, once the private beta period is over). As can be seen in the screenshot to the left, the interface consists of a staging area for construction of a so-called “sprout” (don’t call it a widget!), as well as several panels for tools, components, pages, properties, and more. I found that my experience with Photoshop served me well for creating a sprout (embedded below) that displays TechCrunch feeds, since the same editing concepts are applied by both programs. That said, it would be nice if Sprout had undo capabilities and proper layering, as found in Photoshop.

Full desktop-like web browsing on a mobile phone - Skynew

Skyfire is a free, downloadable mobile browser that delivers rich web media, real fast. There are mobile browsers out there that offer an almost desktop-like browsing experience and combine it with a good dose of usability (ahem, iPhone Safari), but the lack of integrated Flash support keeps these browsers from claiming true desktop-like browsing.

Enter Skyfire for Windows Mobile. The new mobile browser brings the true internet (like you’d experience from your desktop or laptop computer) to Windows Mobile smartphones. Flash-advertisements, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook - any and all web-pages load in speedy fashion thanks to Skyfire’s behind-the-scenes server-magic. With integrated Flash support, animated/interactive advertisements come to life, embedded videos play in the browser, and Flash-based web-pages are finally viewable.

Skyfire is compatible with Windows Mobile 5.0 and 6.0 - in both touchscreen and non-touchscreen flavors.

Check out the video below to get an idea for how Skyfire will work on your WinMo handset. Then go sign up for the private beta here.

Now anyone can create stunning websites online in just minutes

I’m excited to let everyone know about a brand new Web-based technology.It’s called Roxer and represents what we believe is the future of Web page design (screen shots). Roxer which aims to be the easiest way to make a web page:

"Targeted mostly for novices, where with Roxer anyone can build just about any Web page they want using a Web browser (no plug-ins) and without a single line of code. Think Visio, MS Word, or OmniGraffle, but extremely simple and completely on Web-based.

There are a lot of cool features in Roxer, including cross-tab copy/paste, which were extremely difficult to implement. It’s only due to a background in JavaScript hacking were we successful. Other Web 2.0 / Ajax’ish stuff like Drag & Drop, Rich Text Editing, and Edit-in-Place were zip zap after that".

Microsoft Silverlight

Microsoft® Silverlight™, a new cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering the next generation of media experiences and rich interactive applications (RIAs) for the Web. Early supporters of the new platform include Akamai Technologies Inc., Brightcove Inc., Eyeblaster Inc., Limelight Networks, Major League Baseball and Netflix Inc.

Microsoft Silverlight, previously called Windows® Presentation Foundation Everywhere (WPF/E), integrates with existing Web technologies and assets to provide higher-quality experiences with lower costs for media delivery. Delivered to end users through a seamless, fast installation, Silverlight offers consistent experiences to both Macintosh and Windows users on a variety of browsers including Internet Explorer®, Firefox and Safari.

“Content providers are seeking a way to deliver rich interactive applications using the tools and skills they already have. They want an end-to-end solution that enables them to rapidly reach multiple platforms with reasonable deployment costs,” said Bob Muglia, senior vice president of the Server and Tools Business at Microsoft. “Microsoft Silverlight delivers on this need and marks a real step forward for the industry. Silverlight is the only solution in the market today that enables content creators to tap into the broad ecosystem for Windows Media® technologies while taking the Web’s rich interactive application experience to new levels.”

One of the most powerful Open Source Content Management Systems

is an award-winning Content Management System (CMS) that will help you build websites and other powerful online applications. Best of all, Joomla! is an open source solution that is freely available to everybody.

Joomla! is used all over the world to power everything from simple, personal homepages to complex corporate web applications. Here are just some of the ways people use the software:

1). Corporate websites or portals
2). Online commerce
3). Small business websites
4). Non-profit and organizational websites
5). Government applications
6). Corporate intranets and extranets
7). School and church websites
8). Personal or family homepages
9). Community-based portals
10).Magazines and newspapers
11). the possibilities are limitless…

Joomla! can be used to easily manage every aspect of your website, from adding content and images to updating a product catalog or taking online reservations. Have a try now.....

Opera 9.25 Released

Opera for Windows is a great alternative to Internet Explorer. It allows you to surf safer, faster, and easier, and it comes loaded with all the tools you need on the Web.

Opera has mouse gesturing, tabs, a speed dial feature which can hold nine commonly accessed web pages on the main starup screen when the browser lauches (if a homepage is not set), the ability to move back and forth with cached web pages rather than requesting a full page refresh, the ability to mimic or report itself as being Firefox, IE, or other browsers, and several other features which make it a desirable alternate choice.

Opera is a free download and works with Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris SPARC and Intel, QNX, OS/2, Linux SPARC, PowerPC and i386, Free BSD i386 and BeOS. Version 9.25 is the latest stable release. Opera also release future versions which are still under development. The current "preview release" as Opera calls it, is version 9.50b.

Read more :http://www.opera.com/

Tips for optimizing your php code

If you are PHP Programmer, this excellent article is really good for you

1. If a method can be static, declare it static. Speed improvement is by a factor of 4.


2. echo is faster than print.


3. Use echo's multiple parameters instead of string concatenation.


4. Set the maxvalue for your for-loops before and not in the loop.


5. Unset your variables to free memory, especially large arrays.


6. Avoid magic like __get, __set, __autoload


7. require_once() is expensive


8. Use full paths in includes and requires, less time spent on resolving the OS paths.


9. If you need to find out the time when the script started executing, $_SERVER['REQUEST_TIME'] is preferred to time()


10. See if you can use strncasecmp, strpbrk and stripos instead of regex


11. str_replace is faster than preg_replace, but strtr is faster than str_replace by a factor of 4


12. If the function, such as string replacement function, accepts both arrays and single characters as arguments, and if your argument list is not too long, consider writing a few redundant replacement statements, passing one character at a time, instead of one line of code that accepts arrays as search and replace arguments.


13. It's better to use select statements than multi if, else if, statements.


14. Error suppression with @ is very slow.


15. Turn on apache's mod_deflate


16. Close your database connections when you're done with them


17. $row['id'] is 7 times faster than $row[id]


18. Error messages are expensive


19. Do not use functions inside of for loop, such as for ($x=0; $x <count($array); $x) The count() function gets called each time.


20. Incrementing a local variable in a method is the fastest. Nearly the same as calling a local variable in a function.


21. Incrementing a global variable is 2 times slow than a local var.


22. Incrementing an object property (eg. $this->prop++) is 3 times slower than a local variable.


23. Incrementing an undefined local variable is 9-10 times slower than a pre-initialized one.


24. Just declaring a global variable without using it in a function also slows things down (by about the same amount as incrementing a local var). PHP probably does a check to see if the global exists.


25. Method invocation appears to be independent of the number of methods defined in the class because I added 10 more methods to the test class (before and after the test method) with no change in performance.


26. Methods in derived classes run faster than ones defined in the base class.


27. A function call with one parameter and an empty function body takes about the same time as doing 7-8 $localvar++ operations. A similar method call is of course about 15 $localvar++ operations.


28. Surrounding your string by ' instead of " will make things interpret a little faster since php looks for variables inside "..." but not inside '...'. Of course you can only do this when you don't need to have variables in the string.


29. When echoing strings it's faster to separate them by comma instead of dot. Note: This only works with echo, which is a function that can take several strings as arguments.


30. A PHP script will be served at least 2-10 times slower than a static HTML page by Apache. Try to use more static HTML pages and fewer scripts.


31. Your PHP scripts are recompiled every time unless the scripts are cached. Install a PHP caching product to typically increase performance by 25-100% by removing compile times.


32. Cache as much as possible. Use memcached - memcached is a high-performance memory object caching system intended to speed up dynamic web applications by alleviating database load. OP code caches are useful so that your script does not have to be compiled on every request


33. When working with strings and you need to check that the string is either of a certain length you'd understandably would want to use the strlen() function. This function is pretty quick since it's operation does not perform any calculation but merely return the already known length of a string available in the zval structure (internal C struct used to store variables in PHP). However because strlen() is a function it is still somewhat slow because the function call requires several operations such as lowercase & hashtable lookup followed by the execution of said function. In some instance you can improve the speed of your code by using an isset() trick.
    
    Ex.
    if (strlen($foo) < 5) { echo "Foo is too short"; }
    vs.
    if (!isset($foo{5})) { echo "Foo is too short"; }
    
    Calling isset() happens to be faster then strlen() because unlike strlen(), isset() is a language construct and not a function meaning that it's execution does not require function lookups and lowercase. This means you have virtually no overhead on top of the actual code that determines the string's length.


34. When incrementing or decrementing the value of the variable $i++ happens to be a tad slower then ++$i. This is something PHP specific and does not apply to other languages, so don't go modifying your C or Java code thinking it'll suddenly become faster, it won't. ++$i happens to be faster in PHP because instead of 4 opcodes used for $i++ you only need 3. Post incrementation actually causes in the creation of a temporary var that is then incremented. While pre-incrementation increases the original value directly. This is one of the optimization that opcode optimized like Zend's PHP optimizer. It is a still a good idea to keep in mind since not all opcode optimizers perform this optimization and there are plenty of ISPs and servers running without an opcode optimizer.


35. Not everything has to be OOP, often it is too much overhead, each method and object call consumes a lot of memory.


36. Do not implement every data structure as a class, arrays are useful, too


37. Don't split methods too much, think, which code you will really re-use


38. You can always split the code of a method later, when needed


39. Make use of the countless predefined functions


40. If you have very time consuming functions in your code, consider writing them as C extensions


41. Profile your code. A profiler shows you, which parts of your code consumes how many time. The Xdebug debugger already contains a profiler. Profiling shows you the bottlenecks in overview


42. mod_gzip which is available as an Apache module compresses your data on the fly and can reduce the data to transfer up to 80%

by John Lim