Sunday, October 29, 2006
Want to know how things work ? Check check this site
Recently I came across a very good web site. It is called http://www.howstuffworks.com/
It teaches us how things work. A really good site. There is a section completely dedicated for
computers. Some of the topics covered are :
1. How Computer Viruses Work
2. How Bits and Bytes Work
3. How C Programming Works
4. How can a totally logical machine like a computer generate a random number?
5. How Chess Computers Work
6. How does the e-mail notification in my Web browser work?
You can subscribe for newsletters from them by giving our email id (I have already subscribed to this site and they send me the latest things in the site).
You all could try it. The information it contains is so good and vast.
Ok then..have a nice day..bye
sijith
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Intel Core Duo processor on first place in PC world top 100 products of 2006
Apple ipod nano got 4th place. Google earth is in 6th. Mozilla firefix 1.5 is on 12 the position.
Google search engine got 17th place while google desktop is on 47th rank. You tube is on 9th. meebo is on 65th rank.
I am surprised not to see google maps on the list while yahoo maps beta is in 56th position and Microsoft live local is on 39 .The map service from google using that cool AJAX technology is much better than yahoo and microsoft. But I should agree microsoft has also done a good job in microsoft maps in the http://local.live.com/
For the complete list please visit the below web site link.
http://pcworld.com/article/id,125706-page,13/article.html
ok then.bye for now
sijith
Friday, October 27, 2006
Oracle to have its Linux version
Oracle, the giant database company, says it's now going to take Red Hat's software, remove the logos, and sell it for a lower price. And it will keep doing it:
After this news, the stock prices of Red hat has come down. But from the Red Hat Linux side,
they commented that this move from oracle is good for the open source community as a whole.
For more reading, use the below links
http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3640331
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-6130071.html
sijith
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Microsoft and Mozilla head to head with IE7 and Firefox 2.0
Microsoft is inside the game with another web browser after a long wait. Without this release, firefox would have swiped away the growing browser market. Opera, and others are well beyond the popularity of firefox.
I have one more news .Starting on tuesday, you can create create subsets of the whole Google search engine, then do interesting things with them. In short, it's a way to carve off chunks of Google and customize them into a specialty search engine with a specific focus.
I created a sample one and it was lot of fun. wanna try for your self.then go to this link
http://www.google.com/coop/cse/
Ok then..bye for now
sijith
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
A nice video on what google is about and some plans and insight
check out this video which talks about google and its future plans.
Really good one.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7137075178977335350&q=owner:ucberkeley+is141
By for now
Sijith
Monday, October 23, 2006
10 Programming Languages you should learn right NOW
Today I just want to give a list of 10 programming languages which, according to eweek magazine,are bonus for developers to add to their resumes
1. PHP
An open-source, interpretive, server-side, cross-platform, HTML scripting language, especially well-suited for Web development as it can be embedded into HTML pages
2. C#
A general-purpose, compiled, object-oriented programming language developed by Microsoft as part of its .NET initiative, it evolved from C and C++
3.AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML)
Though technically not a programming language, AJAX uses XHTML or HTML, JavaScript and XML to create interactive Web applications. Ever since Google Maps put AJAX, well, on the map, the requests for AJAX-knowledgeable pros went through the roof
4.JavaScript
Not to be confused with Java, JavaScript is a an object-oriented, scripting programming language that runs in the Web browser on the client side. It's smaller than Java, with a simplified set of commands, easier to code and doesn't have to be compiled.
5.Perl
Perl is an open-source, cross-platform, server-side interpretive programming language used extensively to process text through CGI programs.
6.C
"Learning C is crucial. Once you learn C, making the jump to Java or C# is fairly easy, because a lot of the syntax is common
7. Ruby and Ruby on Rails
Ruby is a dynamic, object-oriented, open-source programming language; Ruby on Rails is an open-source Web application framework written in Ruby that closely follows the MVC (Model-View-Controller) architecture.
8. Java
An object-oriented programming language developed by James Gosling and colleagues at Sun Microsystems in the early 1990s. Java is a "beautiful" language, it is central to the non-.Net programming experience.
9. Python
An interpreted, dynamically object-oriented, open-source programming language that utilizes automatic memory management.
10. VB.Net (Visual Basic .Net)
An object-oriented language implemented on Microsoft's .Net framework.Most argue that VB.Net is currently more popular than ever and one of the only "must-learns." "It is currently dominating in adoption and that is where all the work is," said Huckaby.
To read the entire eweek article, please use the link below
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2016415,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03119TX1K0000594
Sunday, October 22, 2006
First Computer Bug
On the 9th of September, 1945, when the machine was experiencing problems, an investigation showed that there was a moth trapped between the points of Relay #70, in Panel F.
The operators removed the moth and affixed it to the log. (See the picture below.) The entry reads: "First actual case of bug being found."
The word went out that they had "debugged" the machine and the term "debugging a computer program" was born.
Saturday, October 21, 2006
What you expect may not be what computers gives out
int k = 1234567890;
printf("%5i",k);
He asked us what is the output for the above program. We all said the answer would be 12345, but we were told that the computer would print the entire numbers. (test this for yourself if you have any doubt). Computer didn't make any mistake here but we made the mistake of not knowing the correct functionality of %5i.
Even this had happened to me before where I assume this is the way it would work till I start coding. Once I start the coding process, a lot of new questions about my initial assumption would come, till I finally conclude I am wrong.
moral of the whole story is "Always try to test the assumptions before you conclude".
Friday, October 20, 2006
Another vista build from microsoft
This was made available to participants in Microsoft's Technology Adoption Program (TAP) late on October 19.
Vista version Rc1 is available for download from microsoft site, but Rc2 is available only to MSDN , technet subscribers.
Microsoft has done pretty big investment on vista and we need to see how this product
will be able to catch the market.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Seven Habits of Highly Effective Programmers
I was browsing the net today and found an article which says "seven habits of highly effective programmer'. After going through the article, I found them very practical and important to a software programmer. So here I give a summary of that article.
Habit1 :Understand Your Requirements
The first step in becoming an effective programmer is to ensure that you are spending your time wisely. And there is no greater waste of time than in working on something that is not useful or never shipped.
We need to have demonstrable system working as early as possible.
Once you have something working, don't just leave it as a "proof of concept". Let people play with it, see their reactions, and let this guide and prioritize your development.
Habit 2 :Keep It Real
Keep your software running in as close to a shipping state as possible. You never know when you'll have to demo the system, send out an evaluation copy, or even deliver ("OK, time to wrap things up!")
Use real data : If you just test with sample data, that big iceberg of real data out there is going to sink your program.
Use real builds : Remember the development build on your machine is not the real build.
Habit3: Understand Your Code
Life is full of wonderful mysteries, but your code is not the place for them. You don't have to know how your car works - if the engine starts making strange noises, you drop it off the mechanic. When it comes to your code, if you don't understand how it works, or doesn't work, no one will.
Code with style : Give proper intents and comments so that your code is readable.
The opposite of stylish programming is cut-and-paste. Grab some code from somewhere that is supposed to do something like what you want, tweak it until it sort of works, stir, repeat, and voila, you have the software equivalent of mystery meat.
Keep it clean: you should periodically inspect your code, sweep up accumulated hard-coded numbers, outdated comments, misleading function names, or you'll inevitably end up with uninhabitable code that's embarrassing to show anyone else
Habit4: Optimal Programming
People always talk about "optimization", but that isn't really a correct word. We're rarely shooting for the optimum - instead, we make improvements and tradeoffs to achieve good-enough performance. The main aim is to get the things done in less number of lines and less system overhead.
Habit5:Manage Thyself
We have to manage ourself to complete the program. We should have a good initial estimate on the task completion time and track our progress to make sure we are in the right direction.
Bugs may come and we may have to break our head to solve it(this is very natural), we should try our best to keep the deadline (even if we have to spend some sleepless nights).
Habit6:Continuous Education
This can be called "sharpening the saw". We know there are many articles and books available on latest things. We should always try to do the things in smarter way than just getting the result. This smartness comes by continuously educating ourself. Just about everything you need is on the Internet tutorials, discussion lists, and free softwares. All you need is the hardware and a broadband connection.
Habit7:R-E-S-P-E-C-T
We should have the respect of our peers and managers, at least in the technical capabilities to have the control of your work and influence over others.
Asking intelligent questions that enhance others' respect for you is a professional skill. A good question that exposes unresolved issues tells people that you know your stuff and you're sharp enough to catch all the implications. Asking for clarification about a specification shows you know how to find and read the spec and your ability to detect ambiguities.
Let everyone know that you read the documentation and googled the subject.
The above article is just a summary of the main article I found on net. For more reading please use the below link
http://www.technicat.com/writing/programming.html
bye for now
sijith
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Google aquires you tube for $1.6 billion. waw !!!!!
Founded in in February 2005, YouTube is a consumer media company for people to watch and share original videos worldwide through a Web experience. Every body in the industry had a watch on youtube. But google did the quick move. No one would have estimated the real worth of youtube , than google, the young innovative software giant.
In one sense, I should call google young because compared to other industry head, google was founded very recently.(1998). But I may be wrong, if i dont put the word Giant to it. This young company has now questioned the very survival of many peers of the field.
Steve Balmer said that they could create youtube site themself. But the point they didnt see is the community of users behind youtube. The site currently delivers more than 100 million video views every day with 65000 new video uploaded daily.
This wopping server space remembers me on the concept of server farm, a collection of reliable servers to save all these massive informations. Creation of server farm and the race of the IT giants to do this is really nice to watch. I will be covering this topic, in one of my future blogs.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Ajax - the new buzz word in IT
I hope you have tried google maps. If not then , it is a must try web site , www.maps.google.com.
These guys have really done a wonderfull job by coming up with such a site. It allows browsing of maps same as you do a PC software.
The main idea behind this is AJAX (Asynchronous java and Xml), which retrieves the data from the server without re loading the page. Ajax has now become a buzz word amoung software developers and it professionals.
The latest news on ajax is researchers at Brown University have created a new programming language for developing Web applications, known as Flapjax.
I also have done some coding on Ajax using .net platform. Microsoft has released "Atlas",which is a library to develop ajax type codes. www.http://atlas.asp.net.This runs in .net 2.0 platform. I had downloaded the library and tutorials in C# last week and it was a real fun to play with it.
I will be soon writing a technical article on the development of ajax enabled programs.
By the way, windows has also launched an ajax enabled map site, check out www.local.live.com
These guys also have a lot of hard work to complete this site (we can understand it by looking at the site). But as a review, I would rate google maps better than windows. But I am sure windows will be coming up with more interactive web sites like this.
As I said yesterday, the firefox browser 2.0 is now ready for download. You can download them from the below link
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/2.0/releasenotes/
sijith
Monday, October 16, 2006
Firefox 2.0 getting ready for release
Tomorrow we would be able to download the latest release candidate of firefox.
This release will be followed by release candidate 3 which will be represent final code for the long awaited 2.0 browser.
Firefox, a browser from mozilla, has captured about 15 % of the global browser market.
It is said that even though firefix 2.0 is yet to be released, work is in full swing for the development of version 3.0, whose expected date of release is late next year.
And I have one more news today. Microsoft has agreed to open the source code of vista kernal to antivirus companies like McCafee and Symmantic so that they can develop their softwares accordingly. This was announced today by Steve Balmer today. He also said that this move will increase the compliance with the European Commission's demands.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Patch guard feature to be shipped with 64 bit version of windows vista
Security software vendors Symantec Corp. and McAfee Inc. say the Patch Guard technology prevents the use of certain features in third-party tools that would make Windows safer from hackers. McAfee last week took out a full-page advertisement in London’s Financial Times newspaper and charged that Microsoft’s use of Patch Guard is anticompetitive behavior.
Microsoft, meanwhile, contends that the technology itself closes the 64-bit Windows kernel to unauthorized access.
Anyway this feature is now available to 64 bit versions only and not the normal 32 bit version available for desktop users.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Will google take on Microsoft ?
The idea of softwares selling as a "BOX" is now coming down. It is now called "Software-service" , where the softwares are actually installed in remote systems (huge server machines) and the users just needs a browser to access those services. Users could save their docs in the server space provided by the companies and access them where ever they want. With the huge improvement in bandwidth speed and internet facilites, computers are now becoming as a terminal to the main computer network (Internet).
There are many rivals for microsoft , eg google, yahoo, apple, IBM,etc , but we all know that google is the main rival for microsoft. Bill gates and Ray Ozzie (Current chief software architect of microsoft) current issues memos which confirms the above fact.
But the fact to be considered is google was a company established in 1998 and within 8 years, there are now head to head with the worlds largest software company. The main success behind google is they know where they want to go. They want to give service free to users and get money from advertisers. This is like a Win-Win scenario.
They made their search engine the worlds best search engine. They come up with google earth, google maps, gmail ,google code search, and the recently launched docs and spread sheet. They are quickly adapting the Web 2.0 to all their applications and this is a good decision they made.
The recent aquiring of youtube.com makes the message more clear. If microsoft needs to remain on top , they have to quickly adapt and come up more innovative softwares which run as services and get the acceptance of the users. Windows live.com is a good initiative from them, but need to see how they will be able to carry it forward.
Friday, October 13, 2006
Welcome to sijith's blog space
This is sijith salim here from United states . I did my graduation from India and reached US on sept 1st 2006.
I am a student of University of New Haven , Connecticut doing masters in computer science.
This blog will be mainly containing latest technology news and updated happening in the world.
We will talk about software companies, their latest products and ventures and the news on various new technologies being introduced in the IT world. Also Iwill discuss on latest webcasts and IT events happening in the world.
I hope this will be a nice experience for me and you all. I am available in the email id
sijith101@hotmail.com
Sijith
