MS.Exam 2'nd chance is started from 11'th May until 30 August 2005.
This is a good opportunity for us to take it without worries.

Spam Email goes to phising activity (Security Tips!)

According to Microsoft Technet bulletin, there is a new term named "Phising".

Tune into just about any news station, or log on to your favorite news Web site, and you’ll likely hear or read about yet another Internet e-mail scam! These scams consist of fraudulent e-mail messages that appear to be from a legitimate Internet address with a justifiable request -- usually directing the user to a Web site for verification or updating of personal information or account details (passwords, credit card, Social Security, and bank account numbers). The messages suggest negative repercussions for not following the embedded link, such as “your account will be deactivated or suspended.”

These types of fraudulent e-mail are commonly referred to as “phishing” because they use bait that lures unsuspecting victims. The goal of the “phisher” (sender) is for users to fall for the bait by providing personal information or account details so that cyber crooks can then withdraw money directly from victims’ bank accounts or go on frantic shopping sprees with the credit card information.


Some tips to prevent getting hacked by the spammer/phiser

• Use spam filter
• Don't reply email with your real name/biodata/finance information
• Check your credit card and bank account saldo regularly
• Use a firewall, anti-spyware and trojan hunter in your PC
• Install the latest virus definition and keep it updated regularly
• Don't donwload unknown file, don't open unknown attachment, don't respond unrecognized pop-up dialog box
• if you are using Windows as your OS, ensure it uses the latest security pack

Related Links

The Anti-Phishing Working Group
U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Microsoft Security At Home
MSN Safety & Security Web site
Gartner Research, “The Growing Threat of Online Attacks on Consumers”
The Anti-Phishing Working Group, “Phishing Activity Trend Report” (PDF)

SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 4

SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 4 (SP4) adds platform support for Microsoft Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition, allowing 32-bit SQL Server 2000 applications to run on 64-bit platforms using the Windows on Windows emulator (WOW64). SP4 addresses specific issues discovered in SQL Server 2000 since its ship date. SP4 is also the first service pack to service the 64-bit edition of SQL Server.

SQL Server 2000 SP4:

• Includes a new version of MSXML version 3.0 SP6. With SP4, the OPENXML statement is updated to use a custom-built XML parsing technology designed to be backward compatible with MSXML 2.6.
• Includes MDAC 2.8 SP1 except for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 platforms, where it is included with the operating system service packs for those platforms.
• Adds the following platform support: With Microsoft Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition & With SP4, you can leverage 64-bit processor architectures using 32-bit SQL Server applications when running in WOW64. Note: SQL Server 32-bit applications, including SQL server client tools, are still not supported on WOW64 for IA64. Also, currently 32-bit Reporting Services is not supported to run on WOW64 on IA64 and x64 platforms running Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition.
• Improves documentation; the Readme documents are reorganized into four distinct readme files for the different SP4 components.
  

Click here to download
SQL2000.AS-KB884525-SP4-x86-ENU.EXE

Windows Mobile 5.0 is ready!

Windows Mobile 5.0 has familiar features that will help you manage e-mail and Office attachments when out of the office.
The next version of Windows Mobile Software includes Windows Media Player 10 Mobile, a great multimedia experience that will make it easy to transfer songs, videos, and pictures from your PC to your device.



I think this is a critical point eventually SAP joined to Microsoft Agreement.
SAP wants its application run in this OS too!
No doubts since there are many hardware vendors upgraded their system to make it works with Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0

• Dell offers Microsoft Mobile 5.0 upgrade for its Axim X50.
• HP offers Microsoft Mobile 5.0 upgrade for its handheld device.

I get my first certification for Microsoft Business Solution - Navision 4.0 Development I (C/Side Introduction)

Exam Number : NA 40-221
Date: 28-Apr-2005

• Basic Table : 88%
• Basic Form : 100%
• C/Al Programming : 100%
• Reports : 87%
• Dataports and XML : 90%
• CodeUnits : 100%
• MenuSuites : 100%
• ODBC,OCX,Automation : 83%

Required score: 80%
My Score: 94%

Authenticate this score report at http://www.pearsonvue.com/authenticate
Registration Number: 211340315
Validation Number: 318545462

INFOR acquires MAPICS completely

There's no MAPICS again in this world of software.
INFOR has replaced MAPICS, therefore the software have been renamed to

• Infor XA ERP 7.4
• Infor SyteLine ERP 7.04

Infor is pleased to announce that the acquisition of MAPICS was completed on April 18, 2005. Infor is now the largest enterprise software provider exclusively focused on solving the essential challenges of select verticals in the manufacturing and distribution industries.

With the completion of the acquisition, MAPICS is 100% owned by Infor which has been and remains a private company. The MAPICS acquisition was financed through a combination of additional equity from Golden Gate Capital and Summit Partners, cash from the Infor Balance Sheet and additional debt underwritten by Lehman Brothers.
“The acquisition of MAPICS deepens our focus on manufacturing and distribution, and strengthens our ability to provide the world-class solutions and experienced professionals our customers need to remain competitive in a global economy,” said Jim Schaper, Infor’s chairman and chief executive officer. “With the addition of MAPICS we now provide solutions to more than 17,500 customers with implementations in 70 countries. Infor’s revenue approaches $600 million with 2,400 employees in 47 global offices focused on solving the essential challenges our customers face everyday.”
MAPICS has been providing the manufacturing industry with ERP, CRM, PLM and supply chain management solutions and professional services for more than 25 years. MAPICS’ operations have been integrated into Infor’s Discrete Group, where the products and services of both companies will continue to be supported. Infor’s Discrete Group now delivers a broad set of solutions covering a range of manufacturing methodologies such as batch processing, make-to-order, make-to-stock, assemble-to-order, engineer-to-order and repetitive.
“Infor will leverage the synergies between our products and MAPICS’ to develop innovative solutions that meet the evolving business requirements of our combined customer base,” said Robin Pederson, general manager and senior vice president of Infor’s Discrete Group. “By building solutions through assembly and innovation, we’re offering our customers a more diversified line of products while also protecting their investment in both Infor and MAPICS solutions .”
With the acquisition, Infor also extends its global reach through MAPICS’ strong affiliate and partner network. The MAPICS network complements Infor’s existing direct and indirect sales channels, enabling Infor to present a broader, deeper product offering, additional global distribution, increased implementation capability and expansion opportunities to organizations throughout the world.

Project Green in Waves

5'th March 2005, at Convergence in San Diego, Doug Burgum, senior vice president of Microsoft Business Solutions Business announced how they will be sending Project Green to the market. Their strategy now says that it is more important to do the conversion to Project Green stepvise, instead of introducing it as a BIG BANG. This way we will see that the applications will move towards the common goal of ONE PRODUCT. The first wave is going on right now and until 2007. You've seen that i.e. both Navision (Rel.4)and Great Plains (Rel.8) has the "same" role based menu-suite. This will spread to the other MBS products. The whole concept of thinking in roles instead than in functions/procedures is a very important part of Green.
The road map of Microsoft Business Solutions:

• Microsoft Business Solutions--Axapta. Microsoft will release the Microsoft Axapta® 3.0 Service Pack 4 in the second quarter of 2005. Availability of a beta version of Microsoft Axapta 4.0 is expected in the fourth quarter of 2005 with a release to manufacturing expected in the first half of 2006.
• Microsoft Business Solutions--Great Plains. Microsoft will launch Microsoft Great Plains® 8.0 Extensions in the first quarter of 2005. In the fourth quarter of 2005, Microsoft Great Plains 8.5 and Microsoft Business Solutions Business Portal 3.0 will be made available.
• Microsoft Business Solutions--Navision. Microsoft will launch Microsoft Navision® 4.01 in the third quarter of 2005.
• Microsoft Business Solutions--Solomon. Microsoft Business Solutions--Solomon 6.5 is expected in the fourth quarter of 2005.
• Microsoft Business Solutions CRM. The next version of Microsoft CRM will be released to manufacturing in the fourth quarter of 2005.
• Microsoft Business Solutions for Analytics--Forecaster. Microsoft Forecaster 7.0 will be released in the third quarter of 2005. In the first quarter of 2006, integration of Microsoft Business Solutions for Analytics--FRx® 6.7 with Microsoft Navision 3.0 and Microsoft Navision 4.0 will be introduced. In the first half of 2006, Microsoft FRx 7.0 will be introduced, with Microsoft Forecaster 8.0 scheduled for launch in the second half of 2006.
• Microsoft Business Solutions Retail Management System. Microsoft will launch a next-generation point-of-sale solution in the second quarter of 2005.

ADO.NET using Visual Basic .NET

Still researching ADO.NET...

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (32 bit)

I found it this windows 2003 update at Tuesday morning 1 April 2003.

Quick Info
File Name:	WindowsServer2003-KB889101-SP1-x86-ENU.exe
Download Size:	337230 KB
Date Published:	3/30/2005
Version:	SP1

Overview

Install Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) to help secure your server and to better defend against hackers. Windows Server 2003 SP1 enhances security infrastructure by providing new security tools such as Security Configuration Wizard, which helps secure your server for role-based operations, improves defense-in-depth with Data Execution Protection, and provides a safe and secure first-boot scenario with Post-setup Security Update Wizard. Windows Server 2003 SP1 assists IT professionals in securing their server infrastructure and provides enhanced manageability and control for Windows Server 2003 users.

Click here to download:
Windows 2003 Server SP1 (32 Bits)

Development Resources

Developer's ammos

As a developer, I definitely suggest you to use these resources:

1. MDAC 2.8
2. DirectX 9.0c Redistributable for Software Developers
3. Windows Script 5.6 for Windows 2000 and XP
4. Platform Software Development Kit Redistributable: Microsoft Layer for Unicode on Windows 95, 98, and Me Systems, 1.1.3790.0
5. Windows Installer 2.0 Redistributable for Windows 95, 98, and Me
6. .NET Framework Software Development Kit Version 1.1
7. .NET Framework 1.1 Service Pack 1
8. Microsoft XML Parser (MSXML) 3.0 Service Pack 4 (SP4)
9. Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit 4.0
10. DirectX 9.0 SDK Update - (February 2005)

SQL and Visual Studio 2005

Why SQL Server 2005?
Whether you recently decided to incorporate Microsoft SQL Server into your solution, or you have been developing on SQL Server for many years, you'll find that SQL Server 2005 provides new and enhanced features that can make your product development easier, faster, and more profitable.
SQL Server 2005 has enhanced integration with Visual Studio and the .NET Framework. Developers can now leverage their existing programming skills by using their favorite .NET language, such as Visual Basic .NET or C#, directly in SQL Server. In addition, native support for XML and Web services enhances interoperability with other platforms and applications.

Why Visual Studio 2005?
The software industry is moving towards service-oriented architectures, resulting in application development increasing in complexity. At the same time, software development organizations are becoming increasingly specialized and geographically distributed.
Visual Studio 2005 enables developers to focus on the more complex aspects of a solution by reducing the amount of code they need to write by about 35%. This enables ISVs to get solutions to market more quickly. Visual Studio 2005 also provides a more efficient team development and testing environment, enabling ISVs to ship products that require less customer support.

Games using .NET (Quake 2.NET)

I always love 3D games, and enjoy .NET programming.
Do you know Quake 3D Games? One of the famous game in the middle of 1997.

Quake II .NET is a version of the popular Quake II game, ported to native and managed C++ using Microsoft® Visual Studio® .NET™ 2003.




Quake II .NET Features:

• Demonstrates how to port C to native and managed C++
• Shows how to extend Quake II using .NET
• Whitepaper with tips on porting to native and managed C++

Native and managed versions: There are two versions: native and managed. The version is displayed in the window caption. The managed version also superimposes the .NET Framework version on the display surface.


The Quake radar:
Different items such as monsters, ammo and health are displayed in the radar. Items rotate around the user. Resize the window to show more or less of the Quake world. Other players (not shown) are displayed in multiplayer mode. Monsters (red circle), health (green square), and weapons / ammo (blue squares) are all displayed on the radar.



Overlay:
Select Overlay on Quake to display the radar on top of the Quake window. Uses window transparency and opacity. Click Overlay Off to display the radar in its own window

Click here to download the source code:
Source Code
You also need Quake 2 original data to play with.

A Novel for IT professional

A recommendation from Mr. Yamin STTS
This is a crime novel about two computer wizards going against each other: The one is Phate, who is playing a perverse version of a game, where his goal is to kill random people in the real life just for the challenge of it. For this purpose, he has written a unique program called "Trapdoor" which in Trojan Horse-style resides on the victim's computer and gives Phate all the information that he wants. To catch Phate, the police is using an imprisoned hacker called Wyatt Gillette. That's already the set up: And on 500 pages those two battle it out.

Microsoft Business Solution Navision - Financial Management

Microsoft Business Solutions–Navision adapts and evolves to match the way in which your business operates. It helps you discover financial opportunities, and motivates users to do more and to learn more.
Financial information is always up-to-date, so you can easily view the specific information you need to make informed decisions. Much more than just an accounting tool, Microsoft Navision makes it easier to spot trends and gain insight into your business activities, so you can capitalize on your knowledge and unearth new opportunities.

Here're several demos about this module

Business Analytic
Consolidation
Dimension
Financial Management
Fixed Asset
Inter Company Posting
Receivables and Payables Management

Enter Windows Mobile Application Contest

Submit your application to one of the designated Mobile2Market Testing Partners by May 31, 2005. Be one of the first 300 to submit by March 31, 2005, and receive free logo-testing* (a $500 value)!
Go to: http://www.mobile2marketcontest.com/enter.asp

Visual Basic 6 to Visual Basic .NET

You are probably still using Visual Basic 6. Microsoft has stated an ending support for VB6. I definitely agree to end this "toy" programming language.
I was born in Pascal 5 until Delphi, learn C++ made me found many weakness in VB6.
For the past 2 years, I've been working on a project that forced me to start using VB6.
Here're the sins of VB6:

• We have to install VB6 in MS Office or MSDN to get its help.
• VB6 can't detect type mismatches or undeclared variables until runtime, and you hit that line.
• Controls only have a limited amount of events.
• Controls don't have anchors.
• VB6 can't have a consistent assignment properties especially its default values. For examples in Form, what is the default property if we assigned the form to variables with datatyped = variant.
• Components have to be installed in the client machine (very hard/impossible in the web development).

VB6 is dead, switch to Delphi .NET/C#.

5 steps to help avoid instant message viruses

As with most threats on the Internet, you can help keep yourself safe by taking basic precautions. If you know how to avoid e-mail viruses, you'll already be familiar with many of these steps.

1. Be careful downloading files in IM.
2. Update your security patch Windows software
3. Make sure you're using an updated version of your IM software
4. Use antivirus software and keep it updated
5. Use anti-spyware software and keep it updated ( I have downloaded Windows Anti Spyware Beta version)

Saturday was so busy. End of week, What a glued state. I thought maybe a weekend of drunken works. Looks for these books:

• Accounting Information System, by BobNar, George H and HoopWood, Williams. (Indonesian/English edition)
• Accounting Information System and Company Organization, by Chusing, Bary E.
• Zaki Bardiwan MSc and Jogiyanto, HM's books. (Indonesian book with Indonesian author).

First Post

This is my first post.
blogspot is nice!