Monday 27 February 2012

10 signs that you aren't cut out to be an IT manager

At some stage, many people will find themselves asking this question. Why did they leave that great little job to take a turn in the management ranks? Let’s take a few minutes to consider how you can avoid becoming a member of this group.

At one time or another, most of us will come to a point in our lives when it’s time to determine our next step. As a business and success coach, I often hear from people who are wondering if it’s time to make a change in their lives. Things may be going well, or not-so-well, but for whatever reason, they’re thinking that it’s time for change. They come to me for help figuring out what’s next in their career.

Most people are not in jobs that they planned and studied for. As a matter of fact, it’s pretty clear that many people are in careers that just “happened.” They started working at a job thinking it was going to be something they’d do until they decided what they really wanted to get involved in, and then they just stayed around until it became a kind of career.

In other cases, individuals are in jobs or professions based on the guidance or encouragement of other people in their lives. Perhaps their parents always wanted a doctor in the family. Maybe their boyfriend or wife kept telling them they were capable of “better” things and needed to get moving on their career. My point is this: Regardless of how they got to where they are now, it wasn’t, for most of the population, a well thought-out plan that was skillfully executed.

In my coaching practice, I’ve learned that this situation often translates into people doing work that really isn’t right for them personally. They may be doing okay, but they sure don’t bound out of bed looking forward to getting to work each day.

We are all more successful when we are doing things we enjoy. To help clients decide what that may be, I ask them a few questions designed to get them to take an honest look at who they are at their core.

For those of you who’ve been thinking, “Maybe I should make the move into management,” I’ve put together this list of 10 warning signals. If any of these hit you as your personal reality, the chances are that you are not cut out to be a manager.

#1: You have a real desire to be liked

Many people feel better when most of the people they are in daily contact with like them. Usually, those same folks won’t feel satisfied when they know that others don’t like or respect them. Management is not about popularity contests. The best managers take the right action to get the job done in the most effective manner, and they know that may mean asking or telling others to do things, some of which may not make them popular. It comes with the territory. If you think you can always please everyone on your team and be effective, you are going to be disappointed.

#2: You prefer to avoid the spotlight and just be a part of the gang

Management is all about taking the lead. This means making decisions and standing up to tell others what you’ve decided. Management-by-consensus can work for some issues and opportunities, but it is rarely effective over the long term. At some stage, all groups will want their manager to stand up and act like one.

#3: Every time you are called on to comment about the topic being discussed, you experience short-term memory loss

Strong managers have good verbal communication skills. Even if you’re in a company with offices spread across the world, knowing how to take your point of view forward to others is a key quality of effectiveness. If you think that making conversation or having meetings with people you don’t know well is painful; you are going to flounder in management.

#4: Having a tough conversation with an employee causes you a great deal of duress

At some point, every manager will have to deal with an “issue” created by an employee or by the company itself. Things like personal appearance (”Stan, we don’t show three inches of underwear above our pants at ABC Corporation”) or annual performance assessments (”Susie, I’m sorry but we can’t give you the same size raise as the average for the department because your contributions were not as good as required”) are never easy for anyone. But they need to be done.

#5: You don’t like to make tough decisions

Managers are required to make decisions of all sizes everyday. I realize this sounds obvious, but I am continually surprised by how difficult it can be for a large percentage of the population. The fact is, some folks prefer to be told what to do and they will thrive doing the best job once given that kind of direction. If you prefer being given the answer or the direction to proceed over being the one who assigns and directs the tasks at hand, you’re probably not going to enjoy being a manager. Face the facts now and you can get on with enjoying your life as a team member.

#6: Being stuck in the middle between the leaders and the team makes your stomach churn

The real, day-to-day life of most managers is that they have people above them and people below them. In many cases, the ones above them will expect the manager to perform well, create thoughtful reports, give them answers to their questions, and develop action plans and proposals. In a similar fashion, those below them will want someone they can come to for direction, advice, counseling, and feedback. Both of these “constituents” will be cranky on many occasions, forgetting all the good stuff you’ve done in the past. If you don’t relish having to feed two sets of snapping alligators everyday, it may be time to decide this is the wrong zoo.

#7: You prefer to keep a low profile, just doing your job; when people look at you, it reminds you how many flaws you have

To be most effective, a good boss has to be visible. We all like to see our supervisor out there on the line alongside us. It makes us feel like we’re doing valuable things all day long. And we appreciate it when the leader can stand up and get things straightened out when they’re in chaos. If you don’t want to be scrutinized over your appearance, the way you talk, your hair, your management style, and your ability to keep things running smoothly in the heat of the day, perhaps you should consider staying in the comfortable cube you currently call yours.

#8: Having a verbal duel in a meeting isn’t your idea of fun and you feel uncomfortable standing up to communicate in a meeting

Ever notice how some people always have just the right response when someone says something to them? And how about those people who have no apparent fear of public speaking? You know who I mean; they always have just the right words and ideas on the spur of the moment. If you get anxious, choked up, turn red, or freeze when called on to participate in a debate or idea-generating forum; you may not want to get into a role that requires good communication ability in group settings.

#9: You dislike having to work hours beyond the “regular” schedule

Many people want a job they like, that pays fairly, and that has fixed and regular hours. In many companies, they are unlikely to find the last part if they choose to enter the management ranks. It’s a sad fact of life that for a lot of people, their hourly wage actually declines when they get promoted’to the job of manager. The nice raise they were given becomes less than expected when they start looking at the longer days on the job or even homework or weekend work.

#10: You could never fire someone because after all, everyone needs a job

I was once told by a manager at a software development firm that he found doing annual appraisals to be about as appealing as going in for dental surgery. He believed that his boss and the HR department always expected him to push his team to improve or else make changes. Like many organizations, his company was under the gun for productivity, and they wanted him to take some action to show that it wouldn’t allow poor performers to hang around. They told him that it was a bad signal to the real high performers if they saw people being allowed to stay employed while they didn’t deliver the goods. If this sounds like the kind of situation that could cause you to reach for that little bottle of purple pills, I suggest you don’t make the move into management just yet.

Thanks & regards,

"Remember Me When You Raise Your Hand For Dua"
Raheel Ahmed Khan
System Engineer
send2raheel@yahoo.com
send2raheel@engineer.com
sirraheel@gmail.com
send2raheel (skype id)

My Blog Spot
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10 signs that you aren't cut out for IT

It’s a tough world out there. Anyone who’s ever worked in IT knows just how tough it is. And if you’re not totally up for the challenge, there will always be someone else who is. But for anyone considering getting into the world of IT, or for those considering getting out of IT… how do you know? How do you know whether you are really cut out for the career that chews up and spits out its young? Well, I have a handy list of signs that maybe IT isn’t the best fit for you.

1: You lack patience

Patience is most certainly a virtue in IT. When some problems strike, they strike with vengeance and most often require a good deal of time to resolve. If you are without patience, you’ll either give up, lose your mind, or pull out all your hair. But the need for patience doesn’t end at dealing with problems. Many times, end users will test your patience more than the technology will. If that’s the case, I recommend that you either get away from having to deal with end users or (if that’s not possible), leave IT immediately.

2: You have no desire to continue your education

IT is an ever-evolving field and without the desire to continue learning, you’re already way behind the curve. This is one of those fields where you must be okay with constantly learning something new. That might mean taking a class or attending a workshop or just hitting the books on your own. But no matter how you slice that education, you must be willing to continue to learn.

3: You refuse to work outside 9-to-5

Technology doesn’t adhere to a set schedule. Servers go down whenever they want and business must go on. So you must be willing to wake up in the middle of the night, work long hours during the week, and work weekends. If you’re someone who refuses to let your workweek interfere with your personal life — well, the writing on the wall is pretty clear.

4: You don’t like people

Do I really need to expand on this one? Yes? Fine. The reason IT pros have jobs is to support end users — aka people. If you don’t like people (and I know plenty who don’t), you really shouldn’t consider a career in IT. The big irony of this is that I also know a lot of people who have been driven to dislike people BECAUSE of IT.

5: You give up quickly

How many times have you had an issue really test your abilities? Did you give up or did you forge on until you managed to best that problem? If you gave up, you did so knowing that you left something broken. That is not an acceptable work ethic in IT, and if you’re okay with that, it’s time to reconsider. Oh sure, there will be times when something is beyond repair or an issue goes above your skill set. But if that’s the case, it’s your responsibility to replace the broken tech or hire someone in to fix the issue.

6: You’re easily frustrated

This is an industry that can frustrate even the most unflappable. But if your frustration boils to the surface right away, you will spend much of your day with high blood pressure. Although IT is a rewarding field, it can also be a frustrating one. If frustration often gets the best of you, you might want to consider a new career or stock in a therapist.

7: You can’t multitask

At any given point in a day, I am doing three or four things at once. Sometimes, this is the only way I can actually get everything done in the given timeframe. If you insist on sticking to one task at a time, IT is going to be a tough career for you. That is not to say single-minded people can’t succeed — but they will have a tougher time than those who can multitask.

8: You have dreams of climbing the corporate ladder

There isn’t much room on the ladder within the IT department. If you have dreams of climbing up and perching yourself on top, you might want to consider a different field. Some IT departments do offer promotions, and maybe you can even climb your way up to CIO. But if CEO is in your dreams, IT is not the field for you.

9: You hate technology

This one should go without saying. But strangely enough, I know people in the IT field who actually HATE technology. If you consider yourself a technophobe, maybe being around servers, desktops, switches, routers, and other IT-centric hardware might not be the best place for you. Although it’s perfectly possible to work in a field you despise, the added level of frustrations you will experience might end your time on this good green Earth earlier than you expected. Take a pass on IT.

10: You turn off your phone at night

This relates to your work hours. Many IT pros I work with are on call 24/7. Their lives completely revolve around their networks, and if they weren’t willing to have such a life, they probably wouldn’t have the jobs they have now. The IT job doesn’t go away — it remains in the background all the time, waiting to pull you from sleep, family gatherings, the birth of your first child. If you’re one to turn your phone off when you leave work, or even ignore those calls from the office (even when said office is blowing said phone up), it might be a good sign the that you and your career are not a good fit.

Tallying up the cons

Just because you suffer from one of two of these traits doesn’t mean you should jump off the IT train and start flipping burgers. But if you recognize quite a few of these signs, you might want to call it a career and head back to school. To help balance the pros and cons, I’ll follow up soon with a list of signs that IT is exactly where you need to be.

Wednesday 22 February 2012

Technology for You

TRANSPARENT TOASTER
You love toast, but you always burn it? Then, this invention is for you. This transparent toaster allows you to see the bread while it is toasting so you just have to take it out when the color is right. This idea is based on a transparent heating glass technology.

BUTTER CUTTER
One Click Butter Cutter controls your portion as an important part of staying healthy. This ingenious butter cutter delivers one standard pat with each click of the handle.

DAY CLOCK
What day is today? You don't know? Then you need a Day Clock. It's uniquely designed to keep track of weekly events like your golf day, card night, movie night, and so much more. It's ideal for vacations and cruises when it's easy to lose track of the day.

LASER SCISSORS
Laser Scissors Cutting a straight line has never been easier. Just aim the pin-point laser and follow the line. The scissor blades are stainless steel and cut very clean with a micro edge.

'THE THING' - INFANT PILLOW
The Zany is an ergonomic infant pillow designed by a mum to mimic the size, weight, touch, and feel of her hand and forearm to help her baby with comfort, support, protection, and development. The Zany can help calm your baby and help your baby sleep better through the night.

TRAVELER'S PHRASE BOOK T-SHIRT
If you are traveling a lot and don't always know the language of the country you are visiting, then this T-shirt is for you. It has a phrase book printed on it so just point a finger at the pictogram you need and then point it twice at the question mark, which means, 'Where is it?' and in no time you have found what you were looking for... Or not. (Another possibility for the foreign language impaired)

Monday 20 February 2012

10 ways tech can boost sales for SMBs

In the DIY culture of small businesses, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the options out there, and finding the time and money to dedicate to IT projects is not easy. All the same, IT is becoming an increasingly important aspect of being able to connect with customers and close sales. Here are 10 things you can do (some of which are pretty easy) that can help you use your IT resources to increase your revenues and profits.

1: Turn off the spam filters for sales accounts

Time and time again, I see businesses that have their accounts for inbound customer communications set up like personal accounts. Unless you make very little profit, the time needed to manually sift through spam is far less than the cost of lost sales, as important communications go astray. No spam filter is perfect, and lots of customers’ emails somehow end up in the junk email bin or get deleted outright. If you are going to use a spam filter on these critical emails, use one that does not permanently block the emails.

2: Beware the coupon sites

Coupon sites are all the rage right now, but many small businesses have been burned by them. Not only are you giving a deep discount, but the terms are often tough for a small business to work with. Things like not being able to restrict the number of coupons sold, delayed payouts (to account for refunds), and the site’s fees often mean that the business takes a beating. If you come out of pocket on inventory or have other per-sale costs, you can lose your shirt in a hurry.

Even for businesses without a per-sale cost model, the deals can be damaging. For example, a local gun range owner reported to me that his deal for inexpensive lane time sold a lot of coupons, but the coupon customers all showed up right before the coupons expired, causing big lines for the full-price customers.

3: Always provide an incident or reference number

While no one is a big fan of automated replies of the “Your email is important to us” variety, one valuable purpose they can serve is to provide a reference number for the incident or contact. Even if you do not use anything fancy for this, giving customers some sort of number to refer to is an important part of being able to follow up with them (or for them to follow up with you). It also helps ensure that when you talk to a customer, you both know what the call is in reference to.

4: Automatically notify customers as the status changes

The “big boys” with their automated systems often get a few things right — like status change notification emails. You need to be doing this, especially if your products are custom items. I’ve recently been dealing with a lot of vendors selling made-to-order or on-demand items, and a common theme is that communications are very poor. After a while, you wonder if you should just cancel your order and place one with a company that has the items in stock but not quite as customized.

Keep your customers in the loop and they’ll be less likely to start looking at other vendors and cancelling orders. Many e-commerce solutions offer this functionality, so it’s worth checking the documentation. If your system doesn’t offer such a feature, you should make a habit of sending emails manually.

5: Get a CRM

Customer relationship management (CRM) systems are typically associated with big businesses, and this has been the case for a while. CRM systems usually require a ton of maintenance and upkeep, and they have high costs and difficult installations. But a new breed of CRM vendors are changing the rules and offering CRM systems (usually Web-based, with zero install or IT department needed) that are targeted at the small business. A CRM system is much more than a fancy email client; things like those order status change notifications and contact reference numbers are usually baked right in. Add on top of that CRM’s other uses, and it is well worth your time to look into using a CRM in your business.

6: Search for yourself

Do some searching on the Internet for your business, and you may find yourself with a pile of things to take care of. For example, many sites list businesses’ contact details, hours of operation, etc., and if those are wrong you will need to correct them. If there are reviews sites talking about your business, take the time to read each review. Then honestly evaluate whether they point to any problems you need to address or whether they give you a new opportunity for business.

While the temptation may be to post bogus reviews or to respond with nasty comments on the bad reviews, don’t. Instead, use these reviews as an opportunity for customer service! If a customer had a bad experience, publicly offer to make it right. You need to make this a regular part of your workflow too, because taking a month to respond is just as bad as not doing it at all.

7: Analyze your Web site

It’s easy to put up a Web site, but it is a lot more work to determine whether it is helping you generate sales. Start with Web log analysis software or Google Analytics to get an idea of what users are looking for, what pages are popular, how long it takes users to find the information they need, and so on. If you have a complex site or online applications, you may want to seriously consider hiring a usability expert. The cost of an expert can easily be paid for by an increase in sales if you do enough business online. Even if you can’t afford a usability expert, using your logged traffic and conducting informal listening labs can provide you with valuable data to improve your site.

8: Put Skype to work

I cannot say enough good things about using Skype for business. Is it perfect? Of course not. But it combines a ton of useful functions, such as VoIP, IM, international calling, Web conferencing, and screen sharing, into one package. And it has enough market penetration within businesses that you can use it for dealing with customers in a business-to-business situation much of the time. For me, being able to do Web conferencing and screen sharing is a critical part of doing business, and I can’t work without it. I like to backstop Skype with dedicated screen-sharing systems too, just in case I’m working with someone who does not have Skype, but I find that this is increasingly rare.

9: Hire a pro for your Web site

One of the great temptations for any small business is to try to save money by doing things themselves or having an unqualified friend or family member do them. And while that may work in the short term, the long term costs are often much higher than you think. This is especially true for a Web site, where the difference between an amateur job and a professional one is glaringly obvious. Sure, it may cost you some money to have a professional do your Web site, but they will get it done much faster than you will, and your time does have a value to it. More important, the professional will do things much better than you will. If you’ve ever decided not to purchase something from a company because its Web site did not feel professional or lacked things like a proper shopping cart and ordering system, you can see how easy it is to lose sales by doing your Web site yourself.

10: Use “Real email” — no excuses

I see this time and time again: The small business that would rather save $5 or $10 a month by using a free email account from Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo!, etc., than to just buy a proper domain name and get good email. What’s the problem here? Well, for one thing it is unprofessional. It looks absolutely horrible to a potential customer to be dealing with a company too cheap to get email. If your target market is individual consumers or you have a unique offering that no one else does, you may be able to get away with it, but certainly not when working with other businesses.

Another problem is that the free email often has overly aggressive spam filtering that you can’t control. You do not have to give up the things you like about these services by getting “real” email, and in fact, some free mail providers (including Google) have a paid option that gives you additional control, lets you use a domain name, and so on.

Saturday 18 February 2012

Microsoft Eying Business in 3G Technology

Microsoft is eyeing 3G launch in Pakistan because it is a big opportunity for software producing companies contributing their due role in bringing out the latest technology, Kamal Ahmad Country Manager Microsoft said in an interview with The News Tribe.

The 3G technology will be made possible to the customers with the collaboration of cellular company, infrastructure vendor and a software giant such as Microsoft.

The software company plays a key role in data-based technology service as it ensures supply of contents and applications to the customers via company’s network.

The local content will be needed for the popularity of the 3G technology on the cellular networks, which could be possible with the platform of different software companies through the channel of partnering vendors, he added

I had met executives of cellular companies recently and held talks on different technical and business aspects of upcoming 3G technology, Kamal said while avoiding naming companies. And we explore the avenues to promote 3G technology in the country.

The 3G will open opportunities for number of professionals and entrepreneurs in future because the advanced service will generate businesses and employments for our youth. “There will be big change in the life of people having latest technology in the life,” he added.

3G contribution in economy is vital as it will strengthen conventional industries particularly agriculture, a backbone of country’s economy, and services sector.

Kamal stressed that the private sector should come forward and play its role in the development of the country economy, which is needed badly at present.

Microsoft is very much serious to play its role in launching 3G technology and it is interested to explore business opportunities in the cellular companies.

It is merit mentioning here that Microsoft is working with PTCL, Ufone and Mobilink currently in the telecom sector.

Microsoft is doing well in Pakistan and it is No.1 software company in the country as 95 percent of our software are utilized by people having access of computers, Microsoft top official claimed.

We are working hard not for our business but for our people, which is evident with Microsoft activities in the universities

Microsoft Pakistan in collaboration with Higher Education Commission (HEC) launched National Student Software Accessibility (NSSA) Portal to provide genuine software availability to the higher education sector.

The portal consisting of around 150 software applications will enable over one million students and about 40,000 faculty members to download genuine Microsoft software.

This is not at all, Microsoft has planned to reach dozens of public universities for facilitating students with advance technology tools in educations. It is targeting 1.2 million enrolled in higher education besides youth which is 60 percent of the overall country’s population, said Microsoft Country Head.

In addition to, Customer Immersion Experience (CIE) is a big project of Microsoft which facilitates businesses in the country with hands-on experience, promoting technology and its utility in the country with advanced and demanding software and applications, he concluded.

Wednesday 15 February 2012

How to Set Up VPN in Windows 7

How to Set Up VPN in Windows 7
Set up a virtual private network in a few simple steps.

VPN (Virtual Private Network) technology lets a computer using a public Internet connection join a private network by way of a secure "tunnel" between that machine and the network. The most common case is a business allowing its employees to connect to its work network from home or from the road.

There are two principal ways to configure VPN. The first and more-common scenario, called outgoing, is setting up a remote computer to call into the office network. The second scenario, called incoming, occurs on the network side, where a computer allows secure connections from other computers. Windows 7 comes preloaded with the Agile VPN client, which makes setting up either kind of connection relatively easy.

Step by Step: Connecting to a VPN (Outgoing)

Step 1 Click the Start button. In the search bar, type VPN and then select Set up a virtual private network (VPN) connection.

Step 2 Enter the IP address or domain name of the server to which you want to connect. If you're connecting to a work network, your IT administrator can provide the best address.

Step 3 If you want to set up the connection, but not connnect, select Don't connect now; otherwise, leave it blank and click Next.

Step 4 On this next screen, you can either put in your username and password, or leave it blank. You'll be prompted for it again on the actual connection. Click Connect.

Step 5 To connect, click on the Windows network logo on the lower-right part of your screen; then select Connect under VPN Connection.

Step 6 In the Connect VPN Connection box, enter the appropriate domain and your log-in credentials; then click Connect.

Step 7 If you can't connect, the problem could be due to the server configuration. (There are different types of VPN.) Check with your network administrator to see what kind is in use--such as PPTP--then, on the Connect VPN Connection screen, select Properties.

Step 8 Navigate to the Security tab and select the specific Type of VPN from the drop-down list. You may also have to unselect Include Windows logon domain under the Options tab. Then click OK and Connect.

Step by Step: Building a VPN (Incoming)

Step 1 Click the Start button, and, in the search bar, type Network and Sharing.

Step 2 Click Change Adapter Settings in the left-hand menu.

Step 3 Click File, and then New Incoming Connection.

Step 4 Select the users you'd like to give access to and click Next.

Step 5 Click Through the Internet and select Next.

Step 6 Select the Internet Protocol you'd like to use. (The default TCP/IPv4--the line highlighted in the screenshot below--will work fine.)

Step 7 Finally, click Allow access; you've now set up an incoming VPN connection.

Thanks & regards,

"Remember Me When You Raise Your Hand For Dua"
Raheel Ahmed Khan
System Engineer
send2raheel@yahoo.com
send2raheel@engineer.com
sirraheel@gmail.com
send2raheel (skype id)

My Blog Spot
http://raheel-mydreamz.blogspot.com/
http://raheeldreamz.wordpress.com/

My Face book pages
http://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Dreamz-Rebiuld-our-nation/176215539101271
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beauty-of-islam/223983470988333?sk=wall
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Health-is-wealth/289486761065829?sk=wall

Sunday 12 February 2012

3D Printing Technology Steps A Level Ahead In 2012

With the beginning of 2012, 3D printing technology has stepped a level above. Believe it or not, 3D Printing Technology has existed since a really long time. Charles Hull invented the first 3D printing method - Stereolithography, in the year 1986. And since then, many other 3D printing methods have plunged into the commercial market; each of them featuring different layer building patterns.

The Replicator by Makerbot Industries. (Continue reading to know more about it)

For now, 3D printing has been more tilted towards building moulds/ prototypes for industrial applications and several other places. Even Dental labs are using 3D printing to help fabricate crowns and bridgework. These devices have been expensive enough to ‘not’ cater the domestic/ desktop category. But, there have been a handful of services to bridge this gap and allow anyone to send digital prints and get them moulded exactly into plastic, metal, ceramic or even food art. So for domestic usage, this is how far 3D printing goes for now.

The only limiting factor is our imagination.

The statement may sound clichéd, but in 3D printing technology’s case, it’s just right. The application and scope of 3D printing technology is much wider than what most of us can perceive. When this technology scales to a much wider applicability, the results will drastically improve our living. Quite recently, Artificial blood vessels have been created with 3D Printers and it may soon have its place for transplants of lab created organs. Now think about that. 3D printing does not only pertain to materialistic objects, it can even work with human physiology.
So moving back to our discussion on 3D printing technology in domestic/ desktop category, this year in 2012, more companies are coming up with services and devices to target the desktop users and make the 3D printing devices more accessible and even affordable.
Cubify.com provides a Kinect-To-Print app where you can make designs with color book simplicity and get them delivered at your place.
Consider an Open Source initiative, RepRap. It’s 3D printer and a variant of fused deposition modeling which can print most of it’s own components. Due to this self replicating nature, it can be made cheaply distributed and aid the users in printing their own creations. It’s also one of the first low-cost 3D printers.

This video talks about RepRap

The MakerBot Replicator is an affordable, DIY, open source 3D printer, compact enough to sit on a desktop. With this, you to print objects in color, upto the size of a bread loaf. It’s decently priced under $2,000, i.e less than र 1 lakh.
Bre Pettis, founder of Makerbot talks about The Replicator_______________________________________________________________________________________________ As we can see, newer 3D printing methodologies and products are gradually hitting the mainstream market. Though there is a lot more to be seen and improved to make 3D printing a magnificent tool than it already is. It will strafe us forward to more practical applications and build almost everything with utmost precision, quality, ease and of course, at much cheaper costs of production.

Thanks & regards,

"Remember Me When You Raise Your Hand For Dua"
Raheel Ahmed Khan
System Engineer
send2raheel@yahoo.com
send2raheel@engineer.com
sirraheel@gmail.com
send2raheel (skype id)

My Blog Spot
http://raheel-mydreamz.blogspot.com/
http://raheeldreamz.wordpress.com/

My Face book pages
http://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Dreamz-Rebiuld-our-nation/176215539101271
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beauty-of-islam/223983470988333?sk=wall
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Health-is-wealth/289486761065829?sk=wall

Visual Studio 2012 – A Sneak Peek At Microsoft’s Upcoming Product

Visual Studio 2012 - Microsoft is all set to release the next increment of its popular development environment. Visual Studio 2010 has made and continues to make a huge impact on the IDE market. I’m a fan of their developer tools, especially when it comes to Visual Studio. The kind of development environment it offers for developers is just seamless!

With so much for me to yet discover and learn about the Visual Studio 2012, i’m excited to discuss about its next version and what all will it be offering to the development community. So here are some of the few fascinating features that i have discovered so far; that’ll make it on Visual Studio 2012.
This is a feature that you can use while writing your code. You can maximize the code window by selecting it, thus hiding your solution explorer and the output window.

This was possible before way back in the 1990′s in Visual Basic 6, but now you can do this in Visual Studio 2012. You can pause your code during execution, modify it and then the compiler handles the rest for you.

A real handy feature for all developers.
Will probably help reduce the number of silly mistakes while programming. Useful to compensate the programmer’s forgetfulness, when it comes to adding semi colons at the end of statements. There are potential rumours that the compiler may also add closing brackets and braces. Damn you Microsoft for making the programmer’s work more convenient and lazy!
A widely embraced feature by most lazy programmers and students. Copying and pasting code picked up from the internet will just become more convenient. Visual studio will now apply its own changes to the copied code and redevelop it for you so that it makes some sense.

Visual Studio 2012 IntelliSense

For all those who copy and paste code directly without even thinking for a second now have an evil monkey by their side. This new feature included in the IntelliSense will point out at the part of the code that has to be written the correct way and ask you to Google it on how to do it, as the source points. Again, no candy for Bing eh?
Be it VB, C# or F#, while viewing your code, you can have it translated to any of these languages you wish to view your code in.
A better “Add Reference” dialog that provides a blend of speed and flexibility as demanded by people earlier.

Thanks & regards,

"Remember Me When You Raise Your Hand For Dua"
Raheel Ahmed Khan
System Engineer
send2raheel@yahoo.com
send2raheel@engineer.com
sirraheel@gmail.com
send2raheel (skype id)

My Blog Spot
http://raheel-mydreamz.blogspot.com/
http://raheeldreamz.wordpress.com/

My Face book pages
http://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Dreamz-Rebiuld-our-nation/176215539101271
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Transfer all data from your current Apple iPhone to a new iPhone

Finally, got a new iPhone ! Here is an simple how-to guide on migrating all your data (contacts, SMS, emails, accounts, pictures, music and movies etc.) to the new Apple device.

Migrating data from one iPhone to another, for this demo purpose we are performing migration from Apple iPhone 4 to Apple iPhone 4S :

Make sure you have the latest version of Apple iTunes installed on your computer.
Backup your original (from where you want data from) iPhone with iTunes.
Now disconnect the older device and connect the other (to which you want data migrated to) to your computer and iTunes.
Right-click the device in iTunes and select "Restore from backup...".

Now select the latest backup done in step 2 above and continue.

Your device will now start restoring backed-up data from older phone, let the process complete.

Your device should restart once to complete the process.

Once rebooted and restore completed, you will be shown the screen as below - simply follow the on-screen instructions and complete the process.

Thanks & regards, "Remember Me When You Raise Your Hand For Dua" Raheel Ahmed Khan System Engineer send2raheel@yahoo.com send2raheel@engineer.com sirraheel@gmail.com send2raheel (skype id) My Blog Spot http://raheel-mydreamz.blogspot.com/ http://raheeldreamz.wordpress.com/ My Face book pages http://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Dreamz-Rebiuld-our-nation/176215539101271 http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beauty-of-islam/223983470988333?sk=wall http://www.facebook.com/pages/Health-is-wealth/289486761065829?sk=wall

Friday 10 February 2012

Google Desktop

Google Desktop is desktop search software made by Google for Linux, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows. The program allows text searches of a user's e-mails, computer files, music, photos, chats, Web pages viewed, and other "Google Gadgets".

In September 2011, Google announced it would discontinue a number of its products, including Google Desktop.

Features

As of January 2008, Google Desktop features the following functionality:

File indexing

After initially installing Google Desktop, the software completes an indexing of all the files in the computer. After the initial indexing is completed, the software continues to index files as needed. Users can start searching for files immediately after installing the program. After performing searches, results can also be returned in a web browser on the Google Desktop Home Page much like the results for Google Web searches.

Google Desktop can index several different types of data, including email, web browsing history from Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, office documents in the Open Document and Microsoft Office formats, instant messenger transcripts from AOL, Google, MSN, Skype, Tencent QQ, and several multimedia file types. Additional file types can be indexed through the use of plug-ins Google Desktop allows the user to control which types of data are indexed by the program.

Google Desktop only indexes 100,000 files per drive during the initial indexing period. If users have more than 100,000 files in a particular drive, Google Desktop won't index all of them during this initial period. However, Google Desktop adds files to the index during real-time indexing when users move or open them.

Sidebar

A prominent feature of Google Desktop is the Sidebar, which holds several common Gadgets and resides off to one side of the desktop. The Sidebar is available with the Microsoft Windows and Linux versions of Google Desktop. The Sidebar comes pre-installed with the following gadgets:

Email – a panel which lets one view their own Gmail messages.
Scratch Pad – here the user can store notes; they are saved automatically
Photos – displays a slideshow of photos from the "My Pictures" folder (address can be changed)
News – shows the latest headlines from Google News, and how long ago they were written. The News panel is personalized depending on the type of news you read.
Weather – shows the current weather for a location specified by the user.
Web Clips – shows updated content from RSS and Atom web feeds.
Google Talk – If Google Talk is installed, double clicking the window title will dock it to the user’s sidebar.

Like the Windows Taskbar, the Google Desktop sidebar can be set to Auto-Hide mode, where it will only appear once the user moves the mouse cursor towards the side where it resides. If not on auto-hide, by default the sidebar will always take up about 1/6 – 1/9 of the screen (depending on the screen resolution), and other windows are forced to resize. However, the sidebar can be resized to take less space, and users can disable the "always on top" feature in the options. With the auto-hide feature on, the sidebar temporarily overlaps maximized windows.
Another feature that comes with the Sidebar is alerts. When the Sidebar is minimized, new e-mail and news can be displayed on a pop-up window above the Windows Taskbar.

Quick Find

When searching in the sidebar, deskbar or floating deskbar, Google Desktop displays a "Quick Find" window. This window is filled with 6 (by default) of the most relevant results from the user's computer. These results update as the user types, and allows use without having to open another browser window.

Deskbars

Deskbars are boxes which enable searching directly from the desktop. Web results will open in a browser window and selected computer results will be displayed in the "Quick Find" box (see above). A Deskbar can either be a fixed deskbar, which sits in the Windows Taskbar, or a Floating Deskbar, which may be positioned anywhere on the desktop.

Email indexing

Google Desktop includes plugins that allow indexing and searching the contents of local Microsoft Outlook, IBM Lotus Notes, and Mozilla Thunderbird email databases, outside of the client applications' built-in search functions. For Lotus Notes, only local databases are indexed for searching. Google Desktop's email indexing feature is also integrated with Google's web-based email service, Gmail; it can index and search the email messages in Gmail accounts.

Gadgets and plug-ins

Desktop gadgets are interactive mini-applications that can be placed anywhere on the user's desktop – or docked in the Sidebar – to show new email, weather, photos, and personalized news. Google offers a gallery of pre-built gadgets for download on the official website. For developers, Google offers an SDK and an official blog for anyone who wants to write gadgets or plug-ins for Google Desktop. An automated system creates a developer hierarchy called the "Google Desktop Hall of Fame", where programmers can advance based on their gadgets' number and popularity.

The SDK also allows third-party applications to make use of the search facilities provided by Google Desktop Search. For example, the file manager Directory Opus offers integrated Google Desktop Search support.

Results list: title meta data

Even though other desktop search programs can search files meta data, Google Desktop (for Windows) is the only one that uses the "title" tag for its results lists of all files (On Linux it shows the meta-data of HTML files, but not PDF files). Other programs use the file names for their results lists. The use of the "title" tag gives a significantly better user experience, since metadata titles (when present) are written in ordinary language, while file names are less communicative. When the title meta data is missing from a file, Google Desktop reverts back to use its filename.

Release history

Google Desktop running on Mac OS X.

Google Desktop running on Red Hat Linux.

Google Desktop was originally developed to bring Google search technology to the desktop. Google Desktop received much attention because it may allow reverse engineering of Google's proprietary search algorithm.

A centrally administered version, which integrates the user experience with the vendor's appliance, exists as well. Google Desktop was officially discontinued on September 14, 2011.

Microsoft Windows

The first release of Google Desktop Search was released as a beta version on October 14, 2004.

Version 2 was released as a beta version on August 22, 2005. The new feature that distinguishes Desktop 2 from Desktop is the addition of Sidebar, a panel that displays personalized information, which can be placed on either side of the Windows desktop and can display real-time news, e-mail, photos, stocks, and weather, among others. Sidebar includes a search box that can search just the PC or Google's other search types (like Web, Images, News, Groups.) Google Desktop 2 graduated from beta on November 3, 2005. New features include a sidebar plug-in for Google Maps and more plug-in developer support.

Google Desktop 3 Beta was released on February 9, 2006. It includes support for searching multiple computers on a network. Google Desktop 3 graduated from beta on March 14, 2006. Notable in this version is the quick search box, which appears anywhere on your desktop after pressing "control" twice.

Google Desktop 4 Beta was released on May 10, 2006. It features Google Gadgets, modules that can deliver an array of information. It also introduces option to automatically remove deleted files from search results. Google Desktop 4 graduated from beta on June 27, 2006.

Google Desktop v4.5 was released on November 14, 2006, adding a transparency aesthetic to the sidebar and "floating" gadgets. The graphic interface of the sidebar was also enhanced with more stylized icons for news, stocks, weather, photos, etc. Release 4.5 also added support for Windows Vista.

Google Desktop 5 Beta was released on March 6, 2007.
Google Desktop v 5.1 (the first post-Desktop 5 Beta release) is made available for download on April 27, 2007.
Google Desktop v 5.5 was released on October 2, 2007.
Google Desktop v 5.5 (5.7.0802.22438) was released February 29, 2008.
Google Desktop v 5.5 (5.8.0806.18441) was released July 1, 2008.
Google Desktop v 5.8 (5.8.0809.08522) was released September 11, 2008.
Google Desktop v 5.8 (5.8.0809.23506) was released October 5, 2008.
Google Desktop v 5.9 (5.9.0906.04286) was released July 8, 2009. It added support for the Chrome browser and is the last version mentioned in the release notes.
Google Desktop v 5.9.0909.02235 added support for the Private Browsing features of Firefox 3 and Internet Explorer 8.
Google Desktop v 5.9.0909.30391 has been released.
Google Desktop v 5.9.0911.03589 has been released.
Google Desktop v 5.9.1005.12335 was released in May 2010.

Mac

On April 2007, Google released Desktop 1.0 for Mac OS X, which can function alongside the Spotlight search tool in Mac OS X v10.4.

On November 29, 2007, Google released Desktop v1.4.0.826 beta for Mac OS X, which plugs into Dashboard for Gadgets support.

Version 1.6 of the Mac version of Google Desktop does not function under Snow Leopard. As of June, 2011, Google is yet to release an update for Snow Leopard support.

Linux

Google released Desktop 1.0 for Linux on June 27, 2007. It currently features the basic functionality of the Windows version and the sidebar functionality.

Google added 64-bit support to the Google Desktop for Linux with version 1.1.1.0075, which was made available for download on December 18, 2007.

Google Desktop for Linux version 1.2.0.0088 was released on April 11, 2008.

Criticisms

Security

In February 2007, Yair Amit, of Watchfire, found a series of vulnerabilities^[17] in Google Desktop that could allow a malicious individual to achieve not only remote, persistent access to sensitive data, but in some cases full system control as well. The significant impact and the ease of exploitation forced Google to change some of Google Desktop's logic in Google Desktop version 5.

Privacy

Many privacy and civil liberties groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) have concerns that personal information on people's computers could readily be copied from users' hard drives.

Google Desktop version 3 contains certain features that raise serious security and privacy concerns. Specifically, the share across computers feature that introduces the ability to search content from desktop to desktop greatly increases the risk to users' privacy. If Google Desktop V.3 is set to allow Search Across Computers, files on an indexed computer are copied to Google's servers. The potential for information stored on their computers to be accessed by others if they enable this feature of Google Desktop v. 3 on their computers should be seriously considered. The EFF advises against using this feature. Also, those who have confidential data on their work or home computers should not enable this feature. There are privacy laws and company policies that could be violated through the installation of this feature, specifically, SB 1386, HIPAA, FERPA, GLBA and Sarbanes-Oxley.

Other more far reaching concerns arise around the packaging and end user license agreement – specifically the level of intrusion on the local machine and the disclaimers that users implicitly agree to future changes in the license agreement without actually being able to see them immediately.

Outlook indexing

There had been some issues with Microsoft Outlook indexing. Deleted email listings were not removed and required re-installing Google Desktop for any new archived mail to be listed. Several versions have been released to patch the Outlook indexing.

During the first half of 2009, a large number of Google Desktop users reported that the product stopped indexing suddenly, when the index file reached approximately 4GB in size. A full uninstall (including manually deleting the indexes) and then reinstall would fix the problem temporarily, but the problem would recur when the index file reached 4GB again. The problem has been resolved as of Google Desktop Search version 5.9. Currently, Google Desktop does not index email or contacts in Outlook 2010.