Saturday, June 25, 2005

GA-8I915G Duo

Performance for Extreme Edition


That is my machine motto.




With Intel 915G chipset, GA-8I915G Duo member of GIGABYTE PX series skillfully designed with pack of features and dedicated to satisfying the needs of platform performance to the extreme. Experience next-generation processing with the latest LGA 775 Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor with Hyper-Threading Technolgy! The GA-8I915G Duo supports both DDR & DDR2 main memory providing a more flexible memory usage and ready for future memory upgrades.






Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 900


Supporting RAID (0, 1, 0+1), JBOD function and ATA133 interface, delivers completely solution for storage interface to increase fault tolerance, improve data access performance and provides additional interface for more IDE devices

June 2005, this board has just gotten an award from in Ukraine as "Editor Choice"

Friday, June 24, 2005

common PC problems you may be able to fix by yourself

Folks, you have to ensure that your computer has been grounded, not only you get a electric shock but static electricity can kill the circuitry inside your computer.




Well, let's try to describe some common PC that can be fix by ourself

We turn on the computer and nothing happens

No lights, no beeps, no fan noise. What is the first thing you do? Be sure the darn thing is plugged in! Even if you're absolutely certain that it is connected, double check.
Assuming that it is plugged in, you probably have a bad power supply. This is a metal box located in the top and back of the computer. It is usually held in by four screws and the power cable connects to it. A fan blows air out the back.
A wiring harness exits the power supply inside the computer. Numerous power connectors are attached to the ends of the wires. These plug into drives, fans and possibly other gizmos. The harness also will have connectors to the motherboard. It doesn't matter which wire connects where, as long as the connector fits.
When you open the computer, this mess of wiring can be very intimidating. Study it, and you'll find it less mysterious. Note the connections in writing, if necessary. Disconnect the wires and remove the power supply. Take it to the computer store and get a replacement with the same wattage.

The computer comes on, but nothing appears on our monitor.
In other words, Windows never shows up. You may have a monitor problem. Try using another known-good monitor on the computer and see if anything shows up on the screen. If the second monitor works, the first one is bad. Monitors are not worth repairing. Just buy a new one. Never open the back of a monitor to fix it. The capacitors inside monitors store electricity. You could be injured or even killed.
If the screen is dark, it could be a video card problem. First, find the video card. This is a circuit board that fits into a slot in the motherboard. The cable from the monitor connects to the VGA (video graphics adapter) port, which sticks out through the back of the computer. If the VGA port is part of the motherboard, the video is built-in. You can't fix that. Otherwise, it will be part of the video card.
Assuming you have a separate card, be sure it is firmly seated. The front end of the card can rise out of the slot inadvertently when the back end is screwed down to the computer frame.
If you have a computer that is working perfectly, turn it off and remove the video card. Put the card that works in the problem computer. If the system works, you need a new card.

If We regularly get the "Blue Screen of Death," we may have a random access memory (RAM) problem.
Note the message on the blue screen, especially the numbers. Check it in Microsoft's Help and Support Knowledge Base. Also, put the text of the error message in a search engine and check the Internet.
Assuming you can diagnose it, a memory problem is easy to fix. If you can't find the diagnosis information you need online, you can try swapping out memory sticks from another computer. But that memory must be the same type. If all else fails, take the old memory to a computer store. The people there may be willing to test it.
Sticks of memory go in slots near the microprocessor. They're about four inches long. Remove the old memory and match it at the store. Memory prices are all over the map, depending on type and speed. Be sure you get the same type.
When you press the new memory into the slot, you will probably have to use some force. The clips on each end will snap into place when the memory is seated properly

If we boot up, and the computer cannot find the C: drive, we might have a bad hard drive.
If you have another computer, swap hard drives to diagnose the problem. If your computer boots with the other drive, yours is probably bad.
Sometimes, a reboot will work. Your drive might have enough life to spin up occasionally. If this works, transfer your data to another drive, pronto.
According to techie lore, you can seal a nonworking drive in a bag and put it in a freezer overnight. That could shrink things enough to free them up. I've used this trick a few times and it's worth a try.
A regular backup regimen will save you in case of hard-drive failure, assuming you aren't backing up to the same hard drive. If the drive is dead and you don't have a backup, a computer shop may be able to save your data.
Hard drives are cheap. Get one boxed for retail, which will include instructions and any hardware needed.
Your hard drive is in the front of your machine. It will be about the size of a paperback book and is probably held in by four screws, two on each side. Power and ribbon cables connect to the back.
Put the new drive in and install it as the master. Reconfigure the old drive as the slave. The instructions that come with the new drive should explain that. Boot the computer and install Windows on the new drive. If you're lucky, the computer will see the old drive (it will be D:). You can then transfer your data to the new drive.
Replacing a hard drive is more difficult than the other operations. However, if you pay to have the work done, it may not be cost effective. You might be better off buying a new machine. So if you are adventuresome, and you have the time, changing the hard drive may be worthwhile.

Monday, June 20, 2005

Navision 4 C/Side Solution Development

I have passed Navision 4 C/Side Solution Development
Date : 20 Jun 2005

Required score : 80%
My Score : 83%

Scored with percentage:
  • C/Al Programming 100%
  • Solution Design 87%
  • Solution Implementation 70%
  • Specific Programming Topic 88%
  • Development Scenario 71%

Authenticate this score report at http://www.pearsonvue.com/authenticate

Registration Number: 211915566

Validation Number: 844471413

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Intel Socket 775 processors

After having a P3 Celeron 1.3 Ghz for over 3 years, I've decided to upgrade soon. Now, I'm aiming for 3Ghz as of right now, P4 is quite expensive...

After reading for several websites, I feel interested with Intel Pentium IV Socket 775.
Here are some points of it:
  • Socket 775 becomes a leading platform for Intel processors, but Socket 478 will be supported for a long time. However, all the novelties will in the first place be announced for Socket 775
  • LGA775 will become the world-first x86 desktop platform with DDR2 support
  • LGA775 processors will be marked using processor numbers instead of real clock rate. For example, today we'll test two such processors: Pentium 4 550 (3.4GHz) and Pentium 4 560 (3.6GHz).
  • Along with the new processors, the company announces two chipsets: Intel 915P Express and Intel 925X Express. The former is positioned for low and middle-end systems and supports both DDR2 and DDR. Intel 925X Express is designed for high-performance desktops and workstations and supports DDR2 only.
  • Both chipsets do not support AGP. Instead there's higher-speed PCI Express x16. For other devices the usual PCI backward compatibility is provided along with up to 4 x PCI Express 1x slots.

Let's look at their appearance here.







Socket 775 CPUs do not have pins. Instead they feature flat contact pads, while pins are in the socket. However, let's get back to the new socket and it's peculiarities and look at diagnostic readouts. This time, along with CPU-Z results we provide CPU Info tab of RightMark Memory Analyzer. The latter is not finished yet, but even in the state it is, it did a good job.






And again CPU-Z considers Prescott Socket 775 a server CPU! Actually all these screenshots just indicate that you shouldn't believe such software right after new announcements. While it won't mistake in clock rate, instruction sets and cache, CPU official names and core codenames might be a problem. Anyway, the latter are usually fixed within days after announcements.

to be continued...



Monday, May 30, 2005



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.

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

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




Thursday, May 12, 2005

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

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

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.

Sunday, May 01, 2005

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

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

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.

Monday, April 11, 2005

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.

Sunday, April 03, 2005

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 2.8genuine Windows download
  2. DirectX 9.0c Redistributable for Software Developersgenuine Windows download
  3. Windows Script 5.6 for Windows 2000 and XPgenuine Windows download
  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 4.0genuine Windows download
  10. DirectX 9.0 SDK Update - (February 2005)genuine Windows download

Friday, April 01, 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.

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

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.

Friday, March 25, 2005

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.



Thursday, March 24, 2005

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

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

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

Monday, March 21, 2005

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#.